,,little ,,journeys ,,to ,,the ,,homes  
,,of ,,the ,,great1 ,,volume #h  ,little
 ,journeys to the ,homes of ,great      
,philosophers  by  ,,elbert ,,hubbard   
,memorial ,edition  ,new ,york  #aiaf4  
,,contents    ,,socrates   ,,seneca     
,,aristotle   ,,marcus ,,aurelius       
,,immanuel ,,kant   ,,swedenborg        
,,spinoza   ,,auguste ,,comte           
,,voltaire   ,,herbert ,,spencer        
,,schopenhauer   ,,henry ,d4 ,,thoreau  
,,socrates        ,i do not think it    
possible for a better man to be injured 
by a      worse4444 ,to a good man      
nothing is evil1 neither while living   
nor      when dead1 nor are his concerns
 neglected by the gods4                 
--,the ,republic  ,illustration3        
,,socrates   ,it was four hundred       
seventy years before ,christ that       
,socrates was born4 ,he never wrote a   
book1 never made a formal address1 held 
no public office1 wrote no letters1 yet 
his words have come down to us sharp1   
vivid and crystalline4 ,his face1 form  

and features are to us familiar--his    
goggle eyes1 bald head1 snub nose and   
bow-legs6 ,the habit of his life--his   
goings and comings1 his arguments and   
wrangles1 his infinite leisure1 his     
sublime patience1 his perfect faith--all
 these things are plain1 lifting the man
 out of the commonplace and setting him 
apart4  ,the ,memorabilia of ,xenophon  
and the ,dialogues of ,plato give us    
,boswellian pictures of the man4        
,knowing the man1 we know what he would 
do2 and knowing what he did1 we know the
 man4  ,socrates was the son of         
,sophroniscus1 a stonecutter1 and his   
wife ,phaenarete4 ,in boyhood he used to
 carry dinner to his father1 and sitting
 by1 he heard the men1 in their free and
 easy way1 discuss the plans of         
,pericles4 ,these workmen didn't know   
the plans--they were only privates in   
the ranks1 but they exercised their     
prerogatives to criticize1 and while    
working to assist1 did right royally    
disparage and condemn4 ,like sailors who

 love their ship1 and grumble at grub   
and grog1 yet on shore will allow no    
word of disparagement to be said1 so did
 these ,athenians love their city1 and  
still condemn its rulers--they exercised
 the laborer's right to damn the man who
 gives him work4  ,little did the       
workmen guess--little did his father    
guess--that this pug-nosed boy1 making  
pictures in the sand with his big toe1  
would also leave his footprints on the  
sands of time1 and a name that would    
rival that of ,phidias and ,pericles6   
,socrates was a product of the ,greek   
renaissance4 ,great men come in groups1 
like comets sent from afar4 ,athens was 
seething with thought and feeling3      
,pericles was giving his annual         
oration--worth thousands of weekly      
sermons--and planning his dream in      
marble2 ,phidias was cutting away the   
needless portions of the white stone of 
,pentelicus and liberating wondrous     
forms of beauty2 ,sophocles was         
revealing the possibilities of the      

stage2 ,a,eschylus was pointing out the 
way as a playwright2 and the passion for
 physical beauty was everywhere an      
adjunct of religion4  ,prenatal         
influences1 it seems1 played their part 
in shaping the destiny of ,socrates4    
,his mother followed the profession of  
,sairy ,gamp1 and made her home with a  
score of families1 as she was needed4   
,the trained nurse is often untrained1  
and is a regular encyclopedia of        
esoteric family facts4 ,she wipes her   
mouth on her apron and is at home in    
every room of the domicile from parlor  
to pantry4 ,then as now she knew the    
trials and troubles of her clients1 and 
all domestic underground happenings     
requiring adjustment she looked after as
 she was disposed4  ,evidently          
,phaenarete was possessed of            
considerable personality1 for we hear of
 her being called to ,mythaeia on a     
professional errand shortly before the  
birth of ,socrates2 and in a month after
 his birth1 a similar call came from    

another direction1 and the bald little  
philosopher was again taken along--from 
which we assume1 following in the       
footsteps of ,conan ,doyle1 that        
,socrates was no bottle-baby4 ,the world
 should be grateful to ,phaenarete that 
she did not honor the ,sairy ,gamp      
precedents and observe the ,platonic    
maxim1 ,sandal-makers usually go        
barefoot3 she gave her customers an     
object-lesson in well-doing as well as  
teaching them by precept4 ,none of her  
clients did so well as she--even though 
her professional duties were so exacting
 that domesticity to her was merely     
incidental4  ,it was only another case  
of the amateur distancing the           
professional4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,from babyhood we 
lose sight of ,socrates until we find   
him working at his father's trade as a  
sculptor4 ,certainly he had a goodly    
degree of skill1 for the ,graces which  
he carved were fair and beautiful and   
admired by many4 ,this was enough3 he   

just wanted to reveal what he could do2 
and then to show that to have no        
ambition was his highest ambition1 he   
threw down his tools and took off his   
apron for good4 ,he was then thirty-five
 years old4 ,art is a jealous mistress1 
and demands that thou shalt have no     
other gods before me4 ,socrates did not 
concentrate on art4 ,his mind went      
roaming the world of philosophy1 and for
 his imagination the universe was hardly
 large enough4  ,i said that he         
deliberately threw down his tools2 but  
possibly this was by request1 for he had
 acquired a habit of engaging in much   
wordy argument and letting the work     
slide4 ,he went out upon the streets to 
talk1 and in the guise of a learner he  
got in close touch with all the wise men
 of ,athens by stopping them and asking 
questions4 ,in physique he was immensely
 strong--hard work had developed his    
muscles1 plain fare had made him        
oblivious of the fact that he had a     
stomach1 and as for nerves1 he had none 

to speak of4  ,socrates did not marry   
until he was about forty4 ,his wife was 
scarcely twenty4 ,of his courtship we   
know nothing1 but sure it is ,socrates  
did not go and sue for the lady's hand  
in the conventional way1 nor seek to    
gain the consent of her parents by      
proving his worldly prospects4 ,his     
apparel was costly as his purse could   
buy1 not gaudy nor expressed in fancy4  
,it consisted of the one suit that he   
wore1 for we hear of his repairing      
beyond the walls to bathe in the stream1
 and of his washing his clothing1       
hanging it on the bushes and waiting for
 it to dry before going back to the     
city4 ,as for shoes1 he had one pair1   
and since he never once wore them1 going
 barefoot ,summer and ,winter1 it is    
presumed that they lasted well4 ,one can
 not imagine ,socrates in an            
opera-hat--in fact1 he wore no hat1 and 
he was bald4 ,i record the fact so as to
 confound those zealous ones who badger 
the bald as a business1 who have recipes

 concealed on their persons1 and who    
assure us that baldness has its rise in 
headgear4  ,socrates belonged to the    
leisure class4 ,his motto was1 ,know    
,thyself4 ,he considered himself of much
 more importance than any statue he     
could make1 and to get acquainted with  
himself as being much more desirable    
than to know physical phenomena4 ,his   
plan of knowing himself was to ask      
everybody questions1 and in their       
answers he would get a true reflection  
of his own mind4 ,his intellect would   
reply to theirs1 and if his questions   
dissolved their answers into            
nothingness1 the supremacy of his own   
being would be apparent2 and if they    
proved his folly he was equally         
grateful--if he was a fool1 his desire  
was to know it4 ,so sincere was         
,socrates in this wish to know himself  
that never did he show the slightest    
impatience nor resentment when the      
argument was turned upon him4  ,he      
looked upon his mind as a second party1 

and sat off and watched it work4 ,should
 it become confused or angered1 it would
 be proof of its insufficiency and      
littleness4 ,if ,socrates ever came to  
know himself1 he knew this fact3 as an  
economic unit he was an absolute        
failure2 but as a gadfly1 stinging men  
into thinking for themselves1 he was a  
success4 ,a specialist is a deformity   
contrived by ,nature to get the work    
done4 ,socrates was a                   
thought-specialist1 and the laziest man 
who ever lived in a strenuous age4 ,the 
desire of his life was to live without  
desire--which is essentially the thought
 of ,nirvana4 ,he had the power never to
 exercise his power except in knowing   
himself4  ,he accepted every fact1      
circumstance and experience of life1 and
 counted it gain4 ,life to him was a    
precious privilege1 and what were       
regarded as unpleasant experiences were 
as much a part of life as the pleasant  
ones4 ,he who succeeds in evading       
unpleasant experiences cheats himself   

out of so much life4 ,you know yourself 
by watching yourself to see what you do 
when you are thwarted1 crossed1         
contradicted1 or deprived of certain    
things supposed to be desirable4 ,if you
 always get the desirable things1 how do
 you know what you would do if you      
didn't have them8 ,you exchange so much 
life for the thing1 that's all1 and thus
 do we see ,socrates anticipating       
,emerson's ,essay on ,compensation4     
,everything is bought with a price--all 
things are of equal value--no one can   
cheat you1 for to be cheated is a not   
undesirable experience1 and in the act1 
if you are really filled with the       
thought1 ,know ,thyself1 you get the    
compensation by increase in mental      
growth4  ,however1 to deliberately go in
 search of experience1 ,socrates said1  
would be a mistake1 because then you    
would so multiply impressions that none 
would be of any avail and your life     
would be burned out4 ,to clutch life by 
the throat and demand that it shall     

stand and deliver is to place yourself  
so out of harmony with your environment 
that you will get nothing4  ,above all  
things1 we must be calm1 self-centered1 
never anxious1 and be always ready to   
accept whatever the gods may send4 ,the 
world will come to us if we only wait4  
,it will be seen that ,socrates is at   
once the oldest and most modern of      
thinkers4 ,he was the first to express  
the ,new ,thought4 ,a thought1 to       
,socrates1 was more of a reality than a 
block of marble--a moral principle was  
just as persistent as a chemical agent4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,the silken-robed and perfumed ,sophist 
was sport and game for ,socrates4 ,for  
him ,socrates recognized no closed      
season4 ,if ,socrates ever came near    
losing his temper1 it was in dealing    
with this ,edmund ,russell of ,athens4  
,grant ,allen used to say1 ,the spores  
of everything are everywhere1 and a     
certain condition breeds a certain      
microbe4 ,a period of prosperity always 

warms into life this social paragon1 who
 lives in a darkened room hung with     
maroon drapery where incense is burned  
and a turbaned ,hindu carries your card 
to the master1 who faces the sun and    
exploits a prie-dieu when the wind blows
 east4 ,athens had these men of refined 
elegance1 ,rome evolved them1 ,london   
has had her day1 ,new ,york knows them1 
and ,chicago--,i trust ,i will not be   
contradicted when ,i say that ,chicago  
understands her business6 ,and so we    
find these folks who cultivate a        
pellucid passivity1 a phthisicky        
whisper1 a supercilious smirk1 and who  
win our smothered admiration and give us
 gooseflesh by imparting a taupe tinge  
of mystery to all their acts and words1 
thus proving to the assembled guests    
that they are the ,quality and ,wisdom  
will die with them4  ,this lingo of     
meaningless words and high-born phrases 
always set ,socrates by the ears1 and   
when he could corner a ,sophist1 he     
would very shortly prick his pretty toy 

balloon1 until at last the tribe fled   
him as a pestilence4 ,socrates stood for
 sanity4 ,the ,sophist represented      
moonshine gone to seed1 and these       
things1 proportioned ill1 drive men     
transverse4  ,extremes equalize         
themselves3 the pendulum swings as far  
this way as it does that4 ,the          
saponaceous ,sophist who renounced the  
world and yet lived wholly in a world of
 sense1 making vacuity pass legal tender
 for spirituality1 and the priest who1  
mystified with a mumble of words1       
evolved a ,diogenes who lived in a tub1 
wore regally a robe of rags1 and once   
went into the temple1 and cracking a    
louse on the altar-rail1 said solemnly1 
,thus does ,diogenes sacrifice to all   
the gods at once6 are but two sides of  
the same shield4  ,in ,socrates was a   
little jollity and much wisdom pickled  
in the scorn of ,fortune2 but the       
,sophists inwardly bowed down and       
worshiped the fickle dame on idolatrous 
knees4 ,socrates won immortality because

 he did not want it1 and the ,sophists  
secured oblivion because they deserved  
it4         99       99       99        
99       99  ,we hear of ,socrates going
 to ,aspasia1 and holding long          
conversations with her to sharpen his   
mind4 ,aspasia did not go out in society
 much3 she and ,pericles lived very     
simply4 ,it is worth while to remember  
that the most intellectual woman of her 
age was democratic enough to be on      
friendly terms with the barefoot        
philosopher who went about regally      
wrapped in a table-spread4 ,socrates did
 not realize the flight of time when    
making calls--he went early and stayed  
late4 ,possibly prenatal influences     
caused him often to call before         
breakfast and remain until after supper4
  ,just imagine ,pericles1 ,aspasia and 
,socrates sitting at table--with ,walter
 ,savage ,landor behind the arras making
 notes6 ,doubtless ,socrates and ,mrs4  
,pericles did most of the talking1 while
 the ,first ,citizen of ,athens listened

 and smiled indulgently now and then as 
his mind wandered to construction       
contracts and walking delegates4        
,pericles1 the builder of a             
city--,pericles1 first among practical  
men since time began1 and ,socrates1 who
 jostles history for first place among  
those who have done nothing but         
talk--imagine these two eating melons   
together1 while ,aspasia1 gentle and    
kind1 talks of spirit being more than   
matter and love being greater than the  
,parthenon6  ,socrates is usually spoken
 of as regarding women with slight      
favor1 but ,i have noticed that your    
genus woman-hater holds the balance true
 by really being a woman-lover4 ,if a   
man is enough interested in women to    
hate them1 note this3 he is only        
searching for the right woman1 the woman
 who compares favorably with the ideal  
woman in his own mind4 ,he measures     
every woman by this standard1 just as   
,ruskin compared all modern painters    
with ,turner and discarded them with    

fitting adjectives as they receded from 
what he regarded as the perfect type4   
,if ,ruskin had not been much interested
 in painters1 would he have written     
scathing criticisms about them8  ,in    
several instances we hear of ,socrates  
reminding his followers that they are   
weak as women1 and he was the first to  
say woman is an undeveloped man4 ,but   
,socrates was a great admirer of human  
beauty1 whether physical or spiritual1  
and his abrupt way of stopping beautiful
 women on the streets and bluntly       
telling them they were beautiful1       
doubtless often confirmed their         
suspicions4 ,and thus far he was        
pleasing1 but when he went on to ask    
questions so as to ascertain whether    
their mental estate compared with their 
physical1 why1 that was slightly        
different4 ,it is good to hear him say1 
,there is no sex in intellect1 and also1
 ,i have long held the opinion that the 
female sex is nothing inferior to ours1 
save only in strength of body and       

possibly in steadiness of judgment4 ,and
 ,xenophon quotes him thus3 ,it is more 
delightful to hear the virtue of a good 
woman described than if the painter     
,zeuxis were to show me the portrait of 
the fairest woman in the world4         
,perhaps ,thackeray is right when he    
says1 ,the men who appreciate woman most
 are those who have felt the sharpness  
of her claws4 ,that is to say1 things   
show up best on the darkest background4 
,if so1 let us give ,xantippe due       
credit4 ,she tested the temper of the   
sage by railing on him and deluging him 
with ,socratic propositions1 not waiting
 for the answers2 she often broke in    
with a broom upon his introspective     
efforts to know himself2 if this were   
not enough1 she dashed buckets of       
scrubbing-water over him2 presents that 
were sent him by admiring friends she   
used as targets for her mop and wit2 if 
he invited friends with faith plus to   
dine1 she upset the table1 dishes and   
all1 before them--not much to their     

loss2 she occasionally elbowed her way  
through a crowd where her husband was   
entertaining the listeners upon the     
divine harmonies1 and would tear off his
 robe and lead him home by the ear4 ,but
 these things never ruffled             
,socrates--he might roll his eyes in    
comic protest at the audiences as he was
 being led away captive1 but no         
resentment was shown4 ,he had the       
strength of a ,hercules1 but he was a   
far better non-resistant than ,tolstoy1 
because he took his medicine with a     
wink1 while ,fate is obliged to hold the
 nose of the author of ,anna ,karenina1 
who never sees the comedy of an inward  
struggle and an outward compliance1 any 
more than does the benedict1 safely     
entrenched under the bed1 who shouts    
out1 ,i defy thee1 ,i defy thee6 as did 
,mephisto when ,goethe thrust him into  
,tophet4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,the popular belief is that
 ,xantippe1 the wife of ,socrates1 was a
 shrew1 and had she lived in ,new       

,england in ,cotton ,mather's time would
 have been a candidate for the          
ducking-stool4 ,socrates said he married
 her for discipline4 ,a man in ,east    
,aurora1 however1 has recently made it  
plain to himself that ,xantippe was     
possessed of a great and acute          
intellect4 ,she knew herself1 and she   
knew her liege as he never did--he was  
too close to his subject to get the     
perspective4 ,she knew that under right 
conditions his name would live as one of
 the world's great teachers1 and so she 
set herself to supply the conditions4   
,she deliberately sacrificed herself and
 put her character in a wrong light     
before the world in order that she might
 benefit the world4 ,most women have a  
goodly grain of ambition for themselves1
 and if their husbands have genius1     
their business is not to prove it1 but  
to show that they themselves are not    
wholly commonplace4  ,not so            
,xantippe--she was quite willing to be  
misunderstood that her husband might    

live4  ,what the world calls a happy    
marriage is not wholly good--ease is    
bought with a price4 ,suppose ,xantippe 
and ,socrates had settled down and lived
 in a cottage with a vine growing over  
the portico1 and two rows of hollyhocks 
leading from the front gate to the door2
 a pathway of coal-ashes lined off with 
broken crockery1 and inside the house   
all sweet1 clean and tidy2 ,socrates    
earning six drachmas a day carving      
marble1 with double pay for overtime1   
and he handing the pay-envelope over to 
her each ,saturday night1 keeping out   
just enough for tobacco1 and she putting
 a tidy sum in the ,a,egean             
,savings-,bank every month--why1 what   
then8  ,well1 that would have been an   
end of ,socrates4 ,xantippe was big     
enough to know this and so she supplied 
the domestic cantharides and drove him  
out upon the streets--he grew to care   
very little for her1 not much for the   
children1 nothing for his home4 ,she    
drove him out into the world of thought1

 instead of allowing him to settle down 
and be content with her society4  ,i    
once knew a sculptor--another           
sculptor--an elemental bit of nature1   
original and1 better still1 aboriginal4 
,he used to sleep out under the stars so
 as to wake up in the night and see the 
march of the ,milky ,way1 and watch the 
,pleiades disappear over the brink of   
the western horizon4 ,he wore a flannel 
shirt1 thick-soled shoes1 and overalls1 
no hat1 and his hair was thick and      
coarse as a horse's mane4 ,this man had 
talent1 and he had sublime conceptions1 
great dreams1 and splendid aspirations4 
,his soul was struggling to find        
expression4 ,leave him alone1 ,i said4  
,he needs time to ripen4 ,he is a       
,michelangelo in embryo6  ,did he ripen8
 ,not he4 ,he married a ,wellesley girl 
of good family4 ,she1 too1 had ideas    
about art--she painted china-buttons for
 shirtwaists1 embroidered chasubles and 
sang ,the ,rosary in a raucous          
,quinsigamond voice4 ,the big barbarian 

became respectable1 and the last time ,i
 saw him he wore a ,tuxedo and was      
passing out platitudes and              
raspberry-shrub at a lawn-party4 ,the   
,wellesley girl had tamed her bear--they
 were very happy1 he assured me1 and she
 was preparing a course of lectures for 
him which he was to give at ,mrs4 ,jack 
,gardner's4 ,a ,xantippe might have     
saved him4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,a captious friend once    
suggested to ,socrates this3 ,if you    
prize the female nature so highly1 how  
does it happen that you do not instruct 
,xantippe8--a rather indelicate         
proposition to put to a married man4    
,and ,socrates1 quite unruffled1        
replied3 ,my friend1 if one wants to    
learn horsemanship1 does he choose a    
tame horse or one with mettle and a hard
 mouth8 ,i wish to converse with all    
sorts of people1 and ,i believe that    
nothing can disturb me after ,i grow    
accustomed to the tongue of ,xantippe4  
,again we hear of his suggesting that   

his wife's scolding tongue may have been
 only the buzzing of his own waspish    
thoughts1 and if he did not call forth  
these qualities in her they would not   
otherwise have appeared4 ,and so1       
beholding her impatience and            
unseemliness1 he would realize the folly
 of an ill temper and thus learn by     
antithesis to curb his own4 ,old ,doctor
 ,johnson used to have a regular        
menagerie of wrangling1 jangling1       
quibbling1 dissatisfied pensioners in   
his household2 and so far as we know he 
never learned the truth that all        
pensioners are dissatisfied4 ,if ,i can 
stand things at home1 ,i can stand      
things anywhere1 he once said to        
,boswell1 as much as to say1 ,if ,i can 
stand things at home1 ,i can stand even 
you4 ,goldsmith referred to ,boswell as 
a cur2 ,garrick said he thought he was a
 bur4 ,socrates had a similar satellite 
by the name of ,cheropho1 a dark1 dirty1
 weazened1 and awfully serious little   
man of the tribe of ,buttinsky1 who sat 

breathlessly trying to catch the pearls 
that fell from the ample mouth of the   
philosopher4 ,aristophanes referred to  
,cheropho as ,socrates' bat1 a play-off 
on ,minerva and her bird of night1 the  
owl4 ,there were quite a number of these
 bats1 and they seemed to labor under   
the same hallucination that catches the 
lady students of the ,pundit            
,vivakenanda ,h4 ,darmapala3 they think 
that wisdom is to be imparted by word of
 mouth1 and that by listening hard and  
making notes one can become very wise4  
,socrates said again and again1         
,character is a matter of growth and all
 ,i hope to do is to make you think for 
yourselves4  ,that chilly exclusiveness 
which regards a man's house as his      
castle1 his home1 the one sacred spot1  
and all outside as the cold and cruel   
world1 was not the ideal of ,socrates4  
,his family was his circle of friends1  
and these were of all classes and       
conditions1 from the ,first ,citizen to 
beggars on the street4  ,he made no     

charge for his teaching1 took up no     
collections1 and never inaugurated a    
,correspondence ,school4 ,america has   
produced one man who has been called a  
reincarnation of ,socrates2 that man was
 ,bronson ,alcott1 who peddled clocks   
and forgot the flight of time whenever  
any one would listen to him expound the 
unities4 ,alcott once ran his           
wheelbarrow into a neighbor's garden and
 was proceeding to load his motor-car   
with cabbages1 beets and potatoes4      
,glancing up1 the philosopher saw the   
owner of the garden looking at him      
steadfastly over the wall4 ,don't look  
at me that way1 called ,alcott with a   
touch of un-,socratic acerbity1 don't   
look at me that way--,i need these      
things more than you6 and went on with  
the annexation4  ,the idea that all good
 things are for use and belong to all   
who need them was a favorite maxim of   
,socrates4 ,the furniture in his house  
never exceeded the exemption clause4    
,once we find him saying that ,xantippe 

complained because he did not buy her a 
stewpan1 but since there was nothing to 
put in it1 he thought her protests      
ill-founded4  ,the climate of ,athens is
 about like that of ,southern           
,california--one does not need to bank  
food and fuel against the coming of     
,winter4 ,life can be adjusted to its   
simplest forms4 ,from his fortieth to   
his fiftieth year1 ,socrates worked     
every other ,thursday2 then he retired  
from active life1 and ,xantippe took in 
plain sewing4  ,socrates was surely not 
a good provider1 but if he had provided 
more for his family1 he would have      
provided less for the world4 ,the       
wealthy ,crito would have turned his    
pockets inside out for ,socrates1 but   
,socrates had all he wished1 and        
explained that as it was he had to dance
 at home in order to keep down the      
adipose4 ,aristides1 who was            
objectionable because he so shaped his  
conduct that he was called ,the ,just   
and got himself ostracized1 was one of  

his dear friends4 ,antisthenes1 the     
original ,cynic1 used to walk six miles 
and back every day to hear ,socrates    
talk4 ,the ,cynic was a rich man1 but so
 captivated was he with the preaching of
 ,socrates that he adopted the life of  
simplicity and dressed in rags and      
boycotted both the barber and the bath4 
,on one occasion ,socrates looked       
sharply at a rent in the cloak of his   
friend and said1 ,ah1 ,antisthenes1     
through that hole in your cloak ,i see  
your vanity6  ,xenophon sat at the feet 
of ,socrates for a score of years1 and  
then wrote his recollections of him as a
 vindication of his character4 ,euclid  
of ,megara was nearly eighty when he    
came to ,socrates as a pupil1 trying to 
get rid of his ill-temper and habit of  
ironical reply4 ,cebes and ,simmias left
 their native country and became ,greek 
citizens for his sake4 ,charmides1 the  
pampered son of wealthy parents1 learned
 pedagogics by being shown that1 in     
households where there were many        

servants1 the children got cheated out  
of their rightful education because     
others did all the work1 and to deprive 
a child of the privilege of being useful
 was to rob him of so much life4        
,a,eschines1 the ambitious son of a     
sausage-maker1 was advised by ,socrates 
to borrow money of himself on long time 
without interest1 by reducing his wants4
 ,so pleased was the recipient with this
 advice1 that he went to publishing     
,socratic dialogues as a business and   
had the felicity to fail with tidy      
liabilities4  ,but the two men who loom 
largest in the life of ,socrates are    
,alcibiades and ,plato--characters very 
much unlike4  ,alcibiades was twenty-one
 years old when we find him first4 ,he  
was considered the handsomest young man 
in ,athens4 ,he was aristocratic1 proud1
 insolent1 and needlessly rich4 ,he had 
a passion for gambling1 horse-racing1   
dog-fighting1 and indulged in the       
churchly habit of doing that which he   
ought not and leaving undone that which 

he should have done4 ,he was worse than 
that degenerate scion of a proud        
ancestry1 who a-kneiping went with his  
lady friends in the ,cincinnati         
fountain1 after the opera1 on a wager4  
,he whipped a man who admitted he did   
not have a copy of the ,iliad in his    
house2 publicly destroyed the record of 
a charge against one of his friends2 and
 when his wife applied for a divorce1 he
 burst into the courtroom and vacated   
proceedings by carrying the lady off by 
force4 ,at banquets he would raise a    
disturbance1 and while he was being     
forcibly ejected from one door1 his     
servants would sneak in at another and  
steal the silverware1 which he would    
give away as charity4 ,he also indulged 
in the ,mark ,antony trick of rushing   
into houses at night and pulling good   
folks out of bed by the heels1 and then 
running away before they were barely    
awake4  ,his introduction to ,socrates  
came in an attempt to break up a        
,socratic prayer-meeting4 ,socrates     

succeeded in getting the roysterer to   
listen long enough to turn the laugh on 
him and show all concerned that the life
 of a rowdy was the life of a fool4     
,alcibiades had expected ,socrates to   
lose his temper1 but it was ,alcibiades 
who gave way1 and blurted out that he   
could not hope to beat his antagonist   
talking1 but he would like to wrestle   
with him4  ,legend has it that ,socrates
 gave the insolent young man a shock by 
instantly accepting his challenge4 ,in  
the bout that followed1 the philosopher1
 built like a gorilla1 got a            
half-,nelson on his man1 who was a      
little the worse for wine1 and threw him
 so hard1 jumping on his prostrate form 
with his knees1 that the aristocratic   
hoodlum was laid up for a moon4 ,ever   
after ,alcibiades had a thorough respect
 for ,socrates4 ,they became fast       
friends1 and whenever the old man talked
 in the ,agora1 ,alcibiades was on hand 
to keep order4  ,when war came with     
,sparta and her allies in the           

,peloponnesus they enlisted1 ,socrates  
going as corporal and ,alcibiades as    
captain4 ,they occupied the same tent   
during the entire campaign4 ,socrates   
proved a fearless soldier1 and walked   
the winter ice in bare feet1 often      
pulling his belt one hole tighter in    
lieu of breakfast1 to show the          
complaining soldiers that endurance was 
the thing that won battles4 ,at the     
battle of ,delium1 when there was a     
rout1 ,xenophon says ,socrates walked   
off the field leisurely1 arm in arm with
 the general1 explaining the nature of  
harmony4  ,through the influence of     
,socrates1 the lawless ,alcibiades was  
tamed and became almost a model citizen1
 although his head was hardly large     
enough for a philosopher4  ,say what you
 will1 you'll find it all in ,plato1    
said ,emerson4 ,if ,socrates had done   
nothing else but give bent to the mind  
of ,plato1 he would deserve the         
gratitude of the centuries4 ,plato is   
the mine to which all thinkers turn for 

treasure4 ,when they first met1 ,plato  
was twenty and ,socrates sixty1 and for 
ten years1 to the day of ,socrates'     
death1 they were together almost        
constantly4 ,plato died aged eighty-one1
 and for fifty years he had lived but to
 record the dialogues of ,socrates4 ,it 
was curiosity that first attracted this 
fine youth to the old man--,socrates was
 so uncouth that he was amusing4 ,plato 
was interested in politics1 and like    
most ,athenian youths1 was intent on    
having a good time4 ,however1 he was no 
rowdy1 like ,alcibiades3 he was suave1  
gracious1 and elegant in all of his     
acts4 ,he had been taught by the        
,sophists and the desire of his life was
 to seem1 rather than to be4 ,by very   
gentle stages1 ,plato began to perceive 
that to make an impression on society   
was not worth working for--the thing to 
do was to be yourself1 and yourself at  
your best4 ,and we can give no better   
answer to the problem of life than      
,plato gives in the words of ,socrates3 

,it is better to be than to seem4 ,to   
live honestly and deal justly is the    
meat of the whole matter4  ,plato was   
not a disciple--he was big enough not to
 ape the manners and eccentricities of  
his ,master--he saw beneath the rough   
husk and beyond the grotesque outside   
the great controlling purpose in the    
life of ,socrates4 ,he would be         
himself--and himself at his best--and he
 would seek to satisfy the ,voice       
within1 rather than to try to please the
 populace4 ,plato still wore his purple 
cloak1 and the elegance and grace of his
 manner were not thrown aside4          
,wouldn't it have been worth our while  
to travel miles to see these friends3   
the one old1 bald1 short1 fat1          
squint-eyed1 barefoot2 and the other    
with all the poise of aristocratic      
youth--tall1 courtly and handsome1      
wearing his robe with easy1 regal grace6
 ,and so they have walked and talked    
adown the centuries1 side by side1 the  
most perfect example that can be named  

of that fine affection which often      
exists between teacher and scholar4     
,plato's ,republic1 especially1 gives us
 an insight into a very great and lofty 
character4 ,from his tower of           
speculation1 ,plato scanned the future1 
and saw that the ideal of education was 
to have it continue through life1 for   
none but the life of growth and         
development ever satisfies4 ,and love   
itself turns to ashes of roses if not   
used to help the soul in her upward     
flight4 ,it was ,plato who first said1  
,there is no profit where no pleasure's 
ta'en4 ,he further perceived that in the
 life of education1 the sexes must move 
hand in hand2 and he also saw that1     
while religions are many and seemingly  
diverse1 goodness and kindness are      
forever one4  ,his faith in the         
immortality of the soul was firm1 but   
whether we are to live in another world 
or not1 he said there is no higher      
wisdom than to live here and now--live  
our highest and best--cultivate the     

receptive mind and the hospitable heart1
 partaking of all good things in        
moderation4  ,it takes these two to make
 the whole4 ,there is no virtue in      
poverty--no merit in rags--the uncouth  
qualities in ,socrates were not a       
recommendation4 ,yet he was himself4    
,but ,plato made good1 in his own       
character1 all that ,socrates lacked4   
,some one has said that ,fitzgerald's   
,omar is two-thirds ,fitzgerald and     
one-third ,omar4 ,in his books1 ,plato  
modestly puts his wisest maxims into the
 mouth of his master1 and just how much 
,plato and how much ,socrates there is  
in the ,dialogues1 we will never know   
until we get beyond the ,river ,styx4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,socrates was deeply attached to        
,athens1 and he finally became the best 
known figure in the city4 ,he criticized
 in his own frank1 fearless way all the 
doings of the times--nothing escaped    
him4 ,he was a self-appointed           
investigating committee in all affairs  

of state1 society and religion4         
,hypocrisy1 pretense1 affectation and   
ignorance trembled at his approach4 ,he 
was feared1 despised and loved4 ,but    
those who loved him were as one in a    
hundred4 ,he became a public nuisance4  
,the charge against him was just plain  
heresy--he had spoken disrespectfully of
 the gods and through his teaching he   
had defiled the youth of ,athens4 ,ample
 warning had been given to him1 and     
opportunity to run away was provided1   
but he stuck like a leech1 asking the   
cost of banquets and making suggestions 
about all public affairs4  ,he was      
arrested1 bailed by ,plato and ,crito1  
and tried before a jury of five hundred 
citizens4 ,socrates insisted on managing
 his own case4 ,a rhetorician prepared  
an address of explanation1 and the      
culprit was given to understand that if 
he read this speech to his judges and   
said nothing else1 it would be          
considered as an apology and he would be
 freed--the intent of the trial being   

more to teach the old man a lesson in   
minding his own business than to injure 
him4  ,but ,socrates replied to his     
well-meaning friend1 ,think you ,i have 
not spent my whole life in preparing for
 this one thing8 ,and he handed back the
 smoothly polished manuscript with a    
smile4 ,montaigne says1 ,should a       
suppliant voice have been heard out of  
the mouth of ,socrates now2 should that 
lofty virtue strike sail in the very    
height of its glory1 and his rich and   
powerful nature be committed to flowing 
rhetoric as a defense8 ,never6          
,socrates cross-questioned his accusers 
in the true ,socratic style and showed  
that he had never spoken disrespectfully
 of the gods3 he had only spoken        
disrespectfully of their absurd         
conception of the gods4 ,and here is a  
thought which is well to consider even  
yet3 ,the so-called infidel is often a  
man of great gentleness of spirit1 and  
his disbelief is not in ,god1 but in    
some little man's definition of ,god--a 

distinction the little man1 being       
without humor1 can never see4  ,when    
,socrates had confounded his accusers1  
this time not giving them the           
satisfaction of the last word1 he       
launched out on a general criticism of  
the city1 and told where its rulers were
 gravely at fault4 ,being cautioned to  
bridle his tongue1 he replied1 ,when    
your generals at ,potidaea and          
,amphipolis and ,delium assigned my     
place in the battle ,i remained there1  
did my work1 and faced the peril1 and   
think you that when ,deity has assigned 
me my duty at this pass in life ,i      
should1 through fear of death1 evade it1
 and shirk my post8  ,this man appeared 
at other times1 to some1 as an idle     
loafer1 but now he arose to a sublime   
height4 ,he repeated with emphasis all  
he had ever said against their foolish  
superstitions1 and arraigned the waste  
and futility of the idle rich4 ,the     
power of the man was revealed as never  
before1 and those who had intended to   

let him go with a fine1 now thought it  
best to dispose of him4 ,the safety of  
the state was endangered by such an     
agitator--the question of religion is   
really not what has sent the martyrs to 
the stake--it is the politician1 not the
 priest1 who fears the heretic4  ,by a  
small majority1 ,socrates was found     
guilty and sentenced to death4 ,let     
,plato tell of that last hour--he has   
done it once for all3       ,when he had
 done speaking1 ,crito said1 ,and have  
you any commands      for us1           
,socrates--anything to say about your   
children1 or any other      matter in   
which we can serve you8       ,nothing  
particular1 he said2 only1 as ,i have   
always told you1 ,i      would have you 
to look to your own conduct2 that is a  
service which      you may always be    
doing to me and mine as well as to      
yourselves4      444       ,we will do  
our best1 said ,crito4 ,but in what way 
would you have      us bury you8        
,in any way that you like2 only you must

 get hold of me1 and take      care that
 ,i do not walk away from you4 ,then he 
turned to us1 and      added with a     
smile3 ,i can not make ,crito believe   
that ,i am the      same ,socrates who  
has been talking and conducting the     
argument2 he      fancies that ,i am the
 other ,socrates whom he will soon see1 
a dead      body--and he asks1 ',how    
shall he bury me8' ,and though ,i have  
spoken      many words in the endeavor  
to show that when ,i have drunk the     
poison ,i shall leave you and go to the 
joys of the blessed--these      words of
 mine1 with which ,i comforted you and  
myself1 have had1 as      ,i perceive1  
no effect upon ,crito4 ,and therefore ,i
 want you to be      surety for me now1 
as he was surety for me at the trial3   
but let      the promise be of another  
sort2 for he was my surety to the judges
      that ,i would remain1 but you must
 be my surety to him that ,i shall      
not remain1 but go away and depart2 and 
then he will suffer less at      my     

death1 and not be grieved when he sees  
my body being burned4 ,i      would not 
have him sorrow at my hard lot1 or say  
at the      burial1',thus we lay out    
,socrates1' or1 ',thus we follow him to 
the      grave or bury him'2 for false  
words are not only evil in              
themselves1 but they infect the soul    
with evil4 ,be of good cheer      then1 
my dear ,crito1 and say that you are    
burying my body only1 and      do with  
that as is usual1 and as you think best4
       ,when he had spoken these words1 
he arose and went into the              
bath-chamber with ,crito1 who bid us    
wait2 and we waited1 talking      and   
thinking of the subject of discourse1   
and also of the greatness      of our   
sorrow2 he was like a father of whom we 
were being bereaved1      and we were   
about to pass the rest of our lives as  
orphans4 ,when he      had taken his    
bath1 his children were brought to      
him--and the women      of his family   
also came1 and he talked to them and    

gave them a few      directions in the  
presence of ,crito2 and he then         
dismissed them and      returned to us4 
,now the hour of sunset was near4 ,when 
he came out1 he sat down with      us   
again after his bath1 but not much was  
said4 ,soon the jailer1      who was the
 servant1 entered and stood by him1     
saying3 ,to you1      ,socrates1 whom ,i
 know to be the noblest and gentlest and
 best of      all who ever came to this 
place1 ,i will not impute the angry     
feelings of other men1 who rage and     
swear at me when1 in obedience      to  
the authorities1 ,i bid them drink the  
poison--indeed ,i am sure      that you 
will not be angry with me2 for others1  
as you are aware1      and not ,i1 are  
the guilty cause4 ,and so fare you well1
 and try to      bear lightly what must 
needs be2 you know my errand4 ,then     
bursting      into tears1 he turned     
away1 and went out4       ,socrates     
looked at him and said1 ,i return your  
good wishes1 and      will do as you    

bid4 ,then turning to us1 he said3 ,how 
charming the      man is6 ,since ,i have
 been in prison1 he has always been     
coming to      see me1 and at times1 he 
would talk to me1 and was as good as    
could      be to me1 and now see how    
generously he sorrows for me4 ,but we   
must      do as he says1 ,crito2 let the
 cup be brought4       ,not yet1 said   
,crito2 the sun is still upon the       
hill-tops1 and      many a one has taken
 the draft late1 and after the          
announcement has      been made to him1 
he has eaten and drunk and indulged in  
sensual      delights2 do not hasten    
then--there is still time4              
,socrates said3 ,yes1 ,crito1 and they  
of whom you speak are right in          
doing thus1 but ,i do not think that ,i 
should gain anything by      drinking   
the poison a little later2 ,i should be 
sparing and saving      a life which is 
already gone3 ,i could only laugh at    
myself for      this4 ,please then to do
 as ,i say1 and not to refuse me4       

,crito1 when he heard this1 made a sign 
to the servant2 and the      servant    
went in1 and remained for some time1 and
 then returned with      the jailer     
carrying the cup of poison4 ,socrates   
said1 ,you1 my good      friend1 who are
 experienced in these matters1 shall    
give me      directions how ,i am to    
proceed4 ,the man answered1 ,you have   
only      to walk about until your legs 
are heavy1 and then to lie down1 and    
the poison will act4 ,at the same time1 
he handed the cup to      ,socrates1    
who1 in the easiest and gentlest manner1
 without the      least fear or change  
of color or feature1 looking at the man 
with      his eyes1 ,echecrates1 as his 
manner was1 took the cup and said3      
,what do you say about making the       
libation out of this cup to any         
god8 ,may ,i1 or not8 ,the man answered1
 ,we only prepare1 ,socrates1      just 
so much as we deem enough4 ,i           
understand1 he said4 ,yet ,i      may   
and must pray to the gods to prosper my 

journey from this to      that other    
world--may this1 then1 which is my      
prayer1 be granted to      me6 ,then    
holding the cup to his lips1 quite      
readily and      cheerfully1 he drank   
off the poison4 ,and hitherto most of us
 had      been able to control our      
sorrow2 but now we saw him drinking1 and
      saw1 too1 that he had finished the
 draft1 we could no longer      forbear1
 and in spite of myself1 my own tears   
were flowing fast2 so      that ,i      
covered my face and wept over myself1   
for certainly ,i was      not weeping   
over him1 but at the thought of my own  
calamity in      having lost such a     
companion4 ,nor was ,i the first1 for   
,crito1 when      he found himself      
unable to restrain his tears1 had got up
 and moved      away1 and ,i followed2  
and at that moment1 ,apollodorus1 who   
had been      weeping all the time1     
broke out into a loud cry1 which made   
cowards      of us all4 ,socrates alone 
retained his calmness4 ,what is this    

strange outcry8 he said1 ,i sent away   
the women mainly in order      that they
 might not offend in this way1 for ,i   
have heard that a man      should die in
 peace4 ,be quiet1 then1 and have       
patience4 ,when we      heard that1 we  
were ashamed1 and refrained our tears2  
and he      walked about until1 as he   
said1 his legs began to fail1 and then  
he      lay on his back1 according to   
directions1 and the man who gave him    
the poison1 now and then looked at his  
feet and legs2 and after a      while1  
he pressed his foot hard and asked him  
if he could feel2 and      he said1 ,no2
 and then his leg1 and so upwards and   
upwards1 and      showed us that he was 
cold and stiff4 ,and he felt them       
himself1 and      said1 ,when the poison
 reaches the heart1 that will be the    
end4 ,he      was beginning to grow     
cold1 when he uncovered his face1 for he
 had      covered himself up1 and said  
7they were his last words71 ,crito1 ,i  
owe a cock to ,asclepius2 will you      

remember to pay the debt8       ,the    
debt shall be paid1 said ,crito4 ,is    
there anything else8      ,there was no 
answer to this question2 but in a minute
 or two1 a      movement was heard1 and 
the attendants uncovered him2 his eyes  
were      set1 and ,crito closed his    
eyes and mouth4       ,such was the end1
 ,echecrates1 of our friend1 whom ,i may
 truly call      the wisest1 the        
justest1 and best of all the men whom ,i
 have ever      known4     ,,seneca     
,if we wish to be just judges of all    
things1 let us first persuade           
ourselves of this3 that there is not one
 of us without fault2 no      man is    
found who can acquit himself2 and he who
 calls himself      innocent does so    
with reference to a witness1 and not to 
his      conscience4                    
--,letters of ,seneca  ,illustration3   
,,seneca   ,true ,americans and         
patriotic1 who live in ,york ,state1    
often refer you to the life of ,red     
,jacket as proof that ,seneca is an     

,iroquois ,indian word4 ,the ,indians1  
however1 whom we call the ,senecas never
 called themselves thus until they took 
to strong water and became civilized4   
,before that they were the              
,tsonnundawaonas4 ,the ,dutch traders1  
intent on pelts and pelf1 called them   
the ,sinnekaas1 meaning the valiant or  
the beautiful4 ,then came that fateful  
day when the ,reverend ,peleg ,spooner1 
the discoverer of the ,erie ,canal1     
journeyed to ,niagara ,falls1 and having
 influence with the authorities at      
,washington1 gave to towns along the way
 these names3 ,troy1 ,rome1 ,ithaca1    
,syracuse1 ,ilion1 ,manlius1 ,homer1    
,corfu1 ,palmyra1 ,utica1 ,delhi1       
,memphis and ,marathon4 ,he really      
exhausted ,grote's ,history of ,greece  
and ,gibbon's ,rome1 revealing a most   
depressing lack of humor4 ,this classic 
flavor of the map of ,new ,york is as   
surprising to ,english tourists as was  
the discovery to ,hendrik ,hudson when1 
on sailing up the ,north ,river1 he     

found on nearing ,albany that the river 
bore the same name as himself4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,in the eighteenth chapter of the ,acts 
of the ,apostles we read of ,paul being 
brought before ,gallio1 ,proconsul of   
,achaia4 ,and the accusers1 clutching   
the bald and bow-legged bachelor by the 
collar1 bawl out to the ,judge1 ,this   
fellow persuadeth men to worship ,god   
contrary to law6  ,and the little man is
 about to make reply1 when ,gallio says1
 with a touch of impatience3 ,if indeed 
it were a matter of wrong or of wicked  
villainy1 ,o ye ,jews1 reason would that
 ,i should bear with you3 but if they   
are questions about words and names and 
your own law1 look to it yourselves2 ,i 
am not minded to be a judge of these    
matters6 ,and the account concludes1    
,and he drove them from the             
judgment-seat4  ,that is to say1 he gave
 ,saint ,paul a nolle pros4 ,had ,gallio
 wished to be severe1 he might have put 
the quietus on ,christianity for all    

time1 for ,saint ,paul had all there was
 of it stowed in his valiant head and   
heart4  ,gallio was the elder brother of
 ,seneca2 his right name was ,annaeus   
,seneca1 but he changed it to ,junius   
,gallio1 in honor of a patron who had   
especially befriended him in youth4     
,gallio seems to have been a man of     
good1 sturdy commonsense--he could      
distinguish between right living and a  
mumble of words1 man-made rules1 laws   
such as heresy1 blasphemy1              
,sabbath-breaking and marrying one's    
deceased wife's sister4 ,the ,moqui     
,indians believe that if any one is     
allowed to have a photograph taken of   
himself he will dry up in a month and   
blow away4 ,moreover1 lists of names are
 not wanting with memoranda of times and
 places4 ,in ,america there are yet     
people who hotly argue as to what mode  
of baptism is correct2 who talk         
earnestly about the saved and the lost2 
and who will tell you of the heathen and
 those who are without the pale4 ,they  

seem to think that the promise1 ,seek   
and ye shall find1 knock and it shall be
 opened unto you1 applies only to the   
,caucasian race4  ,in the earlier       
translations of ,seneca there were      
printed various letters that were       
supposed to have passed between ,saint  
,paul and ,seneca4 ,later editors have  
dropped them out for lack of            
authenticity4 ,but the fact that ,saint 
,paul met ,seneca's brother face to     
face1 as well as the fact that the      
brother was willing to discuss right    
living1 but had no time to waste on the 
,gemara and theological quibbles1 is    
undisputed4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,it was the proud   
boast of ,augustus that he found ,rome a
 place of brick and left it a city of   
marble4 ,commercial prosperity buys the 
leisure upon which letters flourish4 ,we
 flout the businessman1 but without him 
there would be no poets4 ,poets write   
for the people who have time to read4   
,and out of the surplus that is left    

after securing food1 we buy books4      
,augustus built his marble city1 and he 
also made ,vergil1 ,horace1 ,ovid and   
,livy possible4  ,augustus reigned      
forty-four years1 and it was in the     
twenty-seventh year of his reign that   
there was born in ,bethlehem of ,judaea 
a ,babe who was to revolutionize the    
calendar4 ,the ,dean of ,ely subtly puts
 forth the suggestive thought that if it
 had not been for ,augustus we might    
never have heard of ,jesus4 ,it was     
,augustus who made ,jerusalem a ,roman  
,province2 and it was the economic and  
political policy of ,augustus that      
evolved the ,scribes and ,pharisees2 and
 ill-gotten gains made the hypocrites   
and publicans possible2 then comes      
,pontius ,pilate with his receding chin4
  ,jesus was seventeen years old when   
,augustus died--,augustus never heard of
 him1 and the ,roman's unprophetic mind 
sent no searchlight into the future1    
neither did his eyes behold the ,star in
 the ,east4  ,we are all making and     

shaping history1 and how much1 none of  
us knows1 any more than did ,augustus4  
,julius ,caesar had no son to take his  
place1 so he named his nephew1          
,augustus1 his heir4 ,augustus was      
succeeded by ,tiberius1 his adopted     
child4 ,caligula1 successor of          
,tiberius1 was the son of the great     
,roman ,general1 ,germanicus4 ,caligula 
revealed his good sense by drinking life
 to its lees in a reign of four years1  
dying without heirs--,nature refusing to
 transmit either infamy or genius4      
,claudius1 an uncle of ,caligula1       
accepted the vacant place1 as it seemed 
to him there was no one else could fill 
it so well4 ,claudius had the felicity  
to be married four times1 and left      
several sons1 but ,fate had it that he  
should be followed by ,nero1 his        
stepson1 who called himself ,caesar1 yet
 in whose veins there leaped not a      
single ,caesarean corpuscle4  ,the      
guardian and tutor of ,nero was ,lucius 
,seneca1 the greatest1 best and wisest  

man of his time1 a fact ,i here state in
 order to show the vanity of pedagogics4
 ,harking back once more to ,augustus1  
let it be known that but for him ,seneca
 would probably have never left his mark
 upon this bank and shoal of time4      
,seneca was a ,spaniard1 born in        
,cordova1 a ,roman ,province1 that was  
made so by ,augustus1 under whose kindly
 and placating influence all citizens of
 ,hispania became ,roman citizens--just 
as1 when ,california was admitted to the
 ,union1 every man in the ,state was    
declared a naturalized citizen of the   
,united ,states1 the act being performed
 for political purposes1 based on the   
precedents of ,augustus1 and never done 
before nor since in ,america4  ,seneca  
was four years old when his father's    
family moved from ,cordova to ,rome2    
this was three years before the birth of
 ,christ4 ,years pass1 but the human    
heart is forever the same4 ,the elder   
,seneca1 ,marcus ,seneca1 had           
ambitions--he was a great man in        

,cordova3 he could memorize a list of   
two thousand words4 ,these words had no 
relationship one to another1 and ,marcus
 ,seneca could not put words together so
 as to make good sense1 but his name was
 ,loisette3 he had a scheme of mnemonics
 that he imparted for a consideration4  
,he was also a teacher of elocution1 and
 had compiled a yearbook of the sayings 
of ,horace1 which secured him a         
knighthood4 ,augustus paid his colonists
 pretty compliments1 very much as       
,england gives out brevets to           
,strathcona and other worthy ,canadians1
 who raise troops of horse to fight     
,england's battles in ,south ,africa    
when duty calls4  ,marcus ,seneca made  
haste to move to ,rome when ,augustus   
let down the bars4 ,rome was the center 
of the art-world1 the home of letters1  
and all that made for beauty and        
excellence4 ,there were three boys and a
 girl in the ,seneca family4  ,the elder
 boy1 ,annaeus1 was to become ,gallio1  
the ,roman governor1 and have his name  

mentioned in the most widely circulated 
book the world has ever known2 the      
second boy was ,lucius1 the subject of  
this sketch2 the younger boy1 ,mela1 was
 to become the father of ,lucan1 the    
poet4  ,the sister of ,seneca became the
 wife of the ,roman ,governor of ,egypt4
 ,it was at a time when the scheming    
rapacity of women was so much in        
evidence that the ,senate debated       
whether it should not forbid its        
representatives abroad to be accompanied
 by their wives4 ,france has seen such  
times--,england and ,america have       
glanced that way4 ,women1 like men1     
often do not know that the big prizes   
gravitate where they belong2 instead1   
they set traps for them1 lie in wait and
 consider prevarication and duplicity   
better than truth4 ,when women use their
 beauty1 their wit and their pink       
persons in politics1 trouble lies low   
around the corner4 ,but this sister of  
,seneca was never seen in public unless 
it was at her husband's side2 she asked 

no favors1 and presents sent to her     
personally by provincials were politely 
returned4 ,the province praised her1 and
 perhaps what was better1 didn't know   
her1 and begged the ,emperor to send    
them more of such excellent and virtuous
 women--from which we infer that virtue 
consists in minding one's own business4 
,in making up a list of great mothers1  
do not leave out ,helvia1 mother of     
three sons and a daughter who made their
 mark upon the times4 ,it is no small   
thing to be a great mother6  ,women of  
intellect were not much appreciated     
then1 but ,seneca dedicated his         
,consolations1 his best book1 to his    
mother4 ,the very mintage of his mind   
was for her1 and again and again he     
tells of her insight1 her gentle wit1   
and her appreciation of all that was    
beautiful and best in the world of      
thought4 ,in a letter addressed to her  
when he was past forty1 he says1 ,you   
never stained your face with            
walnut-juice nor rouge2 you never wore  

gowns cut conspicuously low2 your       
ornaments were a loveliness of mind and 
person that time could not tarnish4     
,but the father had the knighthood1 and 
he called his family to witness it at   
odd times and sundry4  ,in ,rome1       
,marcus ,seneca made head as he never   
did in ,cordova4 ,there he was only     
,marcus ,micawber3 but here his memory  
feats won him the distinction that      
genius deserves4 ,there is a grave      
question whether a verbal memory does   
not go with a very mediocre intellect1  
but ,marcus said this argument was put  
out by a man with no memory worth       
mentioning4  ,rome was at her ripest    
flower--the petals were soon to loosen  
and flutter to the ground1 but nobody   
thought so--they never do4 ,everywhere  
the ,roman legions were victorious1 and 
commerce sailed the seas in prosperous  
ships4 ,power manifests itself in       
conspicuous waste1 and the habit grows  
until conspicuous waste imagines itself 
power4 ,conditions in ,rome had evolved 

our old friend1 the ,sophist1 the man   
who lived but to turn an epigram1 to    
soulfully contemplate a lily1 to sigh   
mysteriously1 and cultivate the far-away
 look4 ,these men were elocutionists who
 gesticulated in curves1 and let the    
thought follow the attitude4 ,they were 
not content to be themselves1 but chased
 the airy1 fairy fabric of a fancy and  
called it life4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,the pretense and 
folly of ,roman society made the        
,sophists possible--like all sects they 
ministered to a certain cast of mind4   
,over against the ,sophists there were  
the ,stoics1 the purest1 noblest and    
sanest of all ancient cults1            
corresponding very closely to our       
,quakers1 before ,worth and ,wanamaker  
threw them a hawse and took them in tow4
 ,it is a tide of feeling produces a    
sect1 not a belief3 primitive           
,christianity was a revulsion from      
,phariseeism1 and a ,william ,penn and a
 wan ,ann ,lee form the antithesis of an

 o'ervaulting1 fantastic and soulless   
ritual4  ,the father of ,seneca hung    
upon the favor of the ,sophists3 he     
taught them mnemonics1 rhetoric and     
elocution1 and the fact that he was a   
courtly ,spaniard was in his favor--we  
dote on a foreign accent and relish the 
thing that comes from afar4  ,marcus    
,seneca was getting rich4 ,he never     
perceived the absurdity of a life of    
make-believe2 but his son1 ,lucius      
,seneca1 heir to his mother's discerning
 mind1 when nineteen years old forswore 
the ,sophists1 and sided with the       
unpopular ,stoics1 much to the chagrin  
of the father4  ,seneca--let us call him
 so after this--wore the simple white   
robe of the ,stoics1 without ornament or
 jewelry4 ,he drank no wine1 and ate no 
meat4 ,vegetarianism comes in waves1 and
 it is interesting to see that in an    
essay on the subject1 ,seneca           
plagiarizes every argument put forth by 
,colonel ,ernest ,crosby1 even to       
mentioning a butcher as an executioner1 

his goods as dead corpses1 and the      
customers as cannibals4  ,this kind of  
talk did not help the family peace1 and 
the father spoke of disowning the son1  
if he did not cease affronting the ,best
 ,society4  ,soon after1 the ,emperor   
,tiberius issued an edict banishing all 
strange sects who fasted on feast-days1 
and otherwise displeased the gods4 ,this
 was a suggestion for the benefit of the
 ,crosbyites4 ,it is with a feeling of  
downright disappointment that we find   
,seneca shortly appearing in an         
embroidered robe1 and making a speech   
wherein the moderate use of wine is     
recommended1 also the flesh of animals  
for those who think they need it4       
,this1 doubtless1 is the same speech we1
 too1 would have made had we been there2
 but we want our hero to be strong1 and 
defy even an ,emperor1 if he comes      
between the man and his right to eat    
what he wishes and wear what he listeth1
 and we blame him for not doing the     
things we never do4 ,but ,seneca was    

getting on in the world--he had become a
 lawyer1 and his ,sophist training was  
proving its worth4 ,henry ,ward         
,beecher1 in reply to a young man who   
asked him if he advised the study of    
elocution1 said1 ,elocution is all      
right1 but you will have to forget it   
all before you become an orator4 ,seneca
 was shedding his elocution1 and losing 
himself in his work4 ,a successful      
lawsuit had brought him before the      
public as a strong advocate4 ,he was    
able to think on his feet4 ,his voice   
was low1 musical and effective1 and the 
word1 dulcis1 was applied to him as it  
was to his brother1 ,gallio4 ,possibly  
there was something in ol' ,marcus      
,micawber's pedagogic schemes1 after    
all6  ,in moderating his ,stoic         
philosophy1 ,seneca gives us the key to 
his character3 the man wanted to be     
gentle and kind2 he wished to affront   
neither his father nor society2 so he   
compromised--he would please and        
placate4 ,ease and luxury appealed to   

him1 and yet his cool intellect stood   
off1 and reviewing the proceeding       
pronounced it base4 ,he succumbed to the
 strongest attraction1 and attempted the
 feat of riding two horses at once4     
,from his twentieth year1 ,seneca       
dallied with the epigram1 found solace  
in a sentence1 and got a sweet1 subtle  
joy by taking a thought captive4        
,lucullus tells us of the fine          
intoxication of oratory1 but neither    
opium nor oratory imparts a finer thrill
 than successfully to drive a flock of  
clauses1 and round up an idea1 roping it
 in careless grace1 with what my lord   
,hamlet calls words1 words1 words4  ,the
 early ,christian ,fathers spoke of him 
as our ,seneca4 ,his writings abound in 
the purest philosophy--often seemingly  
paraphrasing ,saint ,paul--and every    
argument for directness of speech1      
simplicity1 manliness and moderation is 
put forth4 ,his writings became the rage
 in ,rome3 at feasts he read his essays 
on the ,ideal ,life1 just as the        

disciples of ,tolstoy often travel by   
the gorge road1 and give banquets in    
honor of the man who no longer attends  
one2 or princely paid preachers glorify 
the ,man who said to ,his apostles1     
,take neither scrip nor purse4  ,seneca 
was a combination of ,delsarte and      
,emerson4 ,he was as popular as ,henry  
,irving1 and as wise as ,thomas         
,brackett ,reed4 ,his writings were in  
demand2 when he spoke in public1 crowds 
hung upon his words1 and the families of
 the great and powerful sent him their  
sons1 hoping he would impart the secret 
of success4 ,the world takes a man at   
the estimate he puts upon himself4      
,seneca knew enough to hold himself     
high4 ,honors came his way1 and the     
wealth he acquired is tokened in those  
five hundred tables1 inlaid with ivory1 
to which at times he invited his friends
 to feast4 ,as a lawyer1 he took his    
pick of cases1 and rarely appeared1     
except on appeal1 before the ,emperor4  
,the poise of his manner1 the surety of 

his argument1 the gentle grace of his   
diction1 caused him to be likened to    
,julius ,caesar4  ,and this led straight
 to exile1 and finally--death4 ,to      
mediocrity1 genius is unforgivable4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,there are various statements to the    
effect that ,claudius was a mental      
defective1 a sort of town fool1         
patronized by the nobles for their sport
 and jest4 ,we are also told that he was
 made ,emperor by the ,pretorian        
,guards1 in a spirit of rollicking      
bravado4 ,men too much abused must have 
some merit1 or why should the pack bay  
so loudly8 ,possibly it is true that1 in
 the youth of ,claudius1 his mother used
 to declare1 when she wanted a strong   
comparison1 ,he is as big a fool as my  
son1 ,claudius4 ,but then the mother of 
,wellington used exactly the same       
expression2 and ,byron's mother had a   
way of referring to the son who was to  
rescue her from oblivion1 and send her  
name down the corridors of time1 as that

 lame brat4  ,claudius was a brother of 
the great ,germanicus1 and was therefore
 an uncle of ,caligula4 ,caligula was   
the worst ruler that ,rome ever had2 and
 he was a brother of ,agrippina1 mother 
of ,nero4 ,this precious pair had a most
 noble and generous father1 and their   
gentle mother was a fit mate for the    
great ,germanicus--these things are here
 inserted for the edification of folks  
who take stock in that pleasant fallacy1
 the ,law of ,heredity1 and who         
gleefully chase the genealogical        
anise-seed trail4  ,caligula happily    
passed out without an heir1 and         
,claudius1 next of kin1 put himself in  
the way of the ,pretorian ,guard1 and   
was declared ,emperor4  ,he was then    
fifty years old1 a grass-widower--twice 
over--and on the lookout for a wife4 ,he
 was neither wise nor great1 nor was he 
very bad2 he was kind--after dinner--and
 generous when rightly approached4      
,canon ,farrar likened ,claudius to     
,king ,james the ,first1 who gave us our

 ,english ,bible4 ,his comparison is    
worth quoting1 not alone for the truth  
it contains1 but because it is an       
involuntary paraphrase of the faultless 
literary style of the ,roman rhetors4   
,says ,canon ,farrar3 ,both were        
learned1 and both were eminently unwise4
 ,both were authors1 and both were      
pedants4 ,both delegated their highest  
powers to worthless favorites1 and both 
enriched these favorites with such      
foolish liberality that they remained   
poor themselves4 ,both of them1 though  
of naturally good dispositions1 were    
misled by selfishness into acts of      
cruelty2 and both of them1 though       
laborious in the discharge of duty1     
succeeded only in rendering royalty     
ridiculous4 ,king ,james kept ,sir      
,walter ,raleigh1 the brightest         
intellect of his time1 in prison2 and   
,claudius sent ,seneca1 the greatest man
 in his kingdom1 into exile4  ,new-made 
kings sweep clean4 ,the impulses of     
,claudius were right and just1 a        

truthful statement ,i here make in      
pleasant compliment to a brother author4
 ,the man was absent-minded1 had much   
faith in others1 and moved in the line  
of least resistance4 ,like most students
 and authors1 he was decidedly littery4 
,he secured a divorce from one wife     
because she cleaned up his room in his  
absence so that he could never find     
anything2 and the other wife got a      
divorce from him because he refused to  
go out evenings and scintillate in      
society--but this was before he was made
 ,emperor4  ,god knows1 people had their
 troubles then as now4 ,to take this man
 who loved his slippers and easy-chair1 
and who was happy with a roll of        
papyrus1 and plunge him into a seething 
pot of politics1 not to mention         
matrimony1 was refined cruelty4  ,the   
matchmakers were busy1 and soon         
,claudius was married to ,messalina1 the
 handsomest summer-girl in ,rome4  ,for 
a short time he bore up bravely1 and was
 filled with the wish to benefit and    

bless4 ,one of his first acts was to    
recall ,julia and ,agrippina from exile1
 they having been sent away in a fit of 
jealous anger by their brother1 the     
infamous ,caligula4  ,julia was         
beautiful and intellectual1 and she had 
a high regard for ,seneca4  ,agrippina  
was beautiful and infamous1 and         
pretended that she loved ,claudius4     
,both men were undone4 ,seneca's        
friendship for ,julia1 as far as we     
know1 was of a kind that did honor to   
both1 but they made a too conspicuous   
pair of intellects4 ,the fear and       
jealousy of ,claudius was aroused by his
 young and beautiful wife1 who showed   
him that ,seneca1 the courtly1 was      
plotting for the throne1 and in this    
ambition ,julia was a party4 ,a charge  
of undue intimacy with ,julia1 the      
beloved niece and ward of the ,emperor1 
was brought against ,seneca1 and he was 
exiled to ,corsica4 ,imagine ,edmund    
,burke sent to ,saint ,helena1 or ,john 
,hay to the ,dry ,tortugas1 and you get 

the idea4  ,the sensitive nature of     
,seneca did not bear up under exile as  
we would have wished4 ,unlike ,victor   
,hugo at ,guernsey1 he was alone1 and   
surrounded by savages4 ,yet even ,victor
 ,hugo lifted up his voice in bitter    
complaint4 ,seneca failed to anticipate 
that1 in spite of the barrenness of     
,corsica1 it would some day produce a   
man who would jostle his ,roman ,caesar 
for first place on history's page4  ,at 
,corsica1 ,seneca produced some of his  
loftiest and best literature4 ,exile and
 imprisonment are such favorable        
conditions for letters1 having done so  
much for authorship1 that the wonder is 
the expedient has fallen into practical 
disuse4 ,banishment gave ,seneca an     
opportunity to put into execution some  
of the ideas he had so long expressed   
concerning the simple life1 and certain 
it is that the experience was not       
without its benefits1 and at times the  
grim humor of it all came to him4  ,read
 the history of ,greek ostracism1 and   

one can almost imagine that it was      
devised by the man's friends--a sort of 
heroic treatment prescribed by a great  
spiritual physician4 ,personality repels
 as well as attracts3 the people grow   
tired of hearing ,aristides called the  
,just--he is exiled4 ,for a few days    
there is a glad relief2 then his friends
 begin to chant his praises--he is      
missed4 ,people tell of all the noble1  
generous things he would do if he were  
only here4  ,if he were only here6      
,petitions are circulated for his       
return4  ,the law's delay ensues1 and   
this but increases desire4 ,hate for the
 man has turned to pity1 and pity turns 
to love1 as starch turns to gluten4     
,the man comes back1 and is greeted with
 boughs and bays1 with love and laurel4 
,his homecoming is that of a conquering 
hero4 ,if the ,supreme ,court were to   
issue an injunction requiring all       
husbands to separate themselves by at   
least a hundred miles from their wives1 
for several months in every year1 it    

would cut down divorces ninety-five per 
cent1 add greatly to domestic peace1    
render race-suicide impossible1 and     
generally liberate millions of love     
vibrations that would otherwise lie     
dormant4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,as an example of female   
depravity1 ,valeria ,messalina was      
sister in crime to ,jezebel1 ,bernice1  
,drusilla1 ,salome and ,herodias4       
,damned by a dower of beauty1 with men  
at her feet whenever she so ordered1 her
 ambition knew no limit4 ,this type of  
dictatorial womanhood starts out by     
making conquests of individual men1 but 
the conquests of pretty women are rarely
 genuine4 ,women hold no monopoly on    
duplicity1 and there is a deep vein of  
hypocrisy in men that prompts their     
playing a part1 and letting the woman   
use them4 ,when the time is ripe1 they  
toss her away as they do any other      
plaything1 as ,omar suggests the potter 
tosses the luckless pots to hell4  ,when
 ,julia and ,agrippina were recalled1   

the act was done without consulting     
,messalina2 and we can imagine her rage 
when these two women1 as beautiful as   
herself1 came back without her          
permission4 ,messalina had never found  
favor in the eyes of ,seneca--he treated
 her with patronizing patience1 as      
though she were a spoilt child4  ,now   
that ,julia was back1 ,messalina hatched
 the plot that struck them both4        
,messalina insisted that the wealth of  
,seneca should be confiscated4 ,claudius
 at this rebelled4  ,history is replete 
with instances of great men ruled by    
their barbers and coachmen4 ,claudius   
left the affairs of state to ,narcissus1
 his private secretary2 ,polybius1 his  
literary helper2 and ,pallas1 his       
accountant4 ,these men were all of lowly
 birth1 and had all risen in the ranks  
from menial positions1 and one of them  
at least had been sold as a slave1 and  
afterward purchased his freedom4 ,then  
there was ,felix1 the ex-slave1 another 
protege of ,claudius1 who trembled when 

,paul of ,tarsus told him a little      
wholesome truth4 ,these men were all    
immensely rich1 and once1 when ,claudius
 complained of poverty1 a bystander     
said1 ,you should go into partnership   
with a couple of your freedmen1 and then
 your finances would be all right4 ,the 
fact that ,narcissus1 ,pallas and       
,polybius constituted the real          
government is nothing against them1 any 
more than it is to the discredit of     
certain ,irish refugees that they manage
 the municipal machinery of ,new ,york  
,city--it merely proves the impotence of
 the men who have allowed the power to  
slip from their grasp1 and ride as      
passengers when they should be at the   
throttle4  ,messalina managed her       
husband by alternate cajolings and      
threats4 ,he was proud of her saucy     
beauty1 and it was pleasing to an old   
man's vanity to think that other people 
thought she loved him4 ,she bore him two
 sons--by name1 ,brittanicus and        
,germanicus4 ,a local wit of the day    

said1 ,it was kind of ,messalina to     
present her husband with these boys1    
otherwise he would never have had any   
claim on them4  ,but the lines were     
tightening around ,messalina1 and she   
herself was drawing the cords4 ,she had 
put favorites in high places1 banished  
enemies1 and ordered the execution of   
certain people she did not like4        
,narcissus and ,pallas gave her her own 
way1 because they knew ,claudius must   
find her out for himself4 ,they let her 
believe that she was the real power     
behind the throne4 ,her ambitions       
grew--she herself would be ruler--she   
gave it out that ,claudius was insane4  
,finally she decided that the time was  
right for a coup de grace4 ,claudius was
 absent from ,rome1 and ,messalina      
wedded at high noon with young ,silius1 
her lover4 ,she was led to believe that 
the army would back her up1 and proclaim
 her son1 ,brittanicus1 ,emperor1 in    
which case1 she herself and ,silius     
would be the actual rulers4 ,the wedding

 festivities were at their height1 when 
the cry went up that ,claudius had      
returned1 and was approaching to demand 
vengeance4 ,narcissus1 the wily1 took up
 the shout1 and panic-stricken1         
,messalina fled for safety in one way   
and ,silius in another4  ,narcissus     
followed the woman1 adding to her       
drunken fright by telling her that      
,claudius was close behind1 and         
suggested that she kill herself before  
the wronged man should appear4 ,a dagger
 was handed her1 and she stabbed herself
 ineffectually in hysteric haste4 ,the  
kind secretary then1 with one plunge of 
his sword1 completed the work so well   
begun4  ,a truthful account of          
,messalina's death was told to ,claudius
 while he was at dinner4 ,he finished   
the meal without saying a word1 gave a  
present to the messenger1 and went about
 his business1 asking no questions1 and 
never again mentioned the matter4  ,the 
fact is worthy of note that the name of 
,messalina is never once mentioned by   

,seneca4 ,he pitied her vileness and    
villainy so much he could not hate her4 
,he saw1 with prophetic vision1 what her
 end would be2 and when her passing     
occurred1 he was too great and lofty in 
spirit to manifest satisfaction4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,scarcely had the funeral of ,messalina 
occurred1 when there was a pretty       
scramble among the eligible to see who  
should solace the stricken widower4     
,among other matrimonial candidates was 
,agrippina1 a beautiful widow1          
twenty-nine in ,june1 rich in her own   
right1 and with only a small encumbrance
 in the way of a ten-year-old boy1 ,nero
 by name4  ,agrippina was a niece of    
,claudius1 and such marriages were      
considered unnatural2 but ,agrippina had
 subtly shown that1 the deceased        
,emperor being her brother1 she already 
had a sort of claim on the throne1 and  
her marriage with ,claudius would       
strengthen the ,state4 ,then she        
marshaled her charms past ,claudius1 in 

a phalanx and back1 and so they were    
married4 ,there was much pomp and       
ceremony at the wedding1 and the high   
priest pronounced the magic words--,i   
trust ,i use the right expression4      
,very soon after her marriage1          
,agrippina recalled ,seneca from exile4 
,it was the infamous ,messalina who had 
disgraced him and sent him away1 and for
 ,agrippina1 the sister of ,julia1 to   
bring him back1 was regarded as a       
certificate of innocence1 and a great   
diplomatic move for ,agrippina4  ,when  
,seneca returned1 the whole city went   
out to meet him4 ,it is not at all      
likely that ,seneca had a suspicion of  
the true character of ,agrippina1 any   
more than ,claudius--which sort of tends
 to show the futility of philosophy4    
,how could ,seneca read her true        
character when it had not really been   
formed8 ,no one knows what he will do   
until he gets a good chance4 ,it is     
unkind condition that keeps most of us  
where we belong4  ,and even while the   

honeymoon--or should we say the         
harvest-moon8--was at full1 ,seneca was 
made the legal guardian and tutor of    
,nero1 the son of the ,empress1 and     
became a member of the royal household4 
,this was done in gratitude1 and to make
 amends1 if possible1 for the wrong of  
banishment inflicted upon the man by    
scandalously linking his name with that 
of the sister of the woman who was now  
,first ,lady of the ,land4  ,seneca was 
then forty-nine years of age4 ,he had   
fifteen years of life yet before him1   
and was to gain much valuable           
experience1 and get an insight into a   
side of existence he had not yet known4 
,agrippina was born in ,cologne1 which  
was called1 in her honor1 ,colonia      
,agrippina1 and now has been shortened  
to its present form4 ,whenever you buy  
cologne1 remember where the word came   
from4  ,agrippina1 from her very        
girlhood1 had a thirst for adventure1   
and her aim was high4 ,when fourteen1   
she married ,domitius1 a ,roman noble1  

thirty years her senior4 ,he was as     
worthless a rogue as ever wore out his  
physical capacity for sin in middle     
life1 and filled his dying days with    
crimes that were only mental4 ,he knew  
himself so well that when ,nero was born
 he declared that the issue of such a   
marriage could only breed a being who   
would ruin the ,state--a monster with   
his father's vices and his mother's     
insatiable ambition4  ,agrippina was    
woman enough to hate this man with an   
utter detestation2 but he was rich1 and 
so she endured him for ten years1 and   
then assisted ,nature in making him food
 for worms4  ,the intensity of          
,agrippina's nature might have been used
 for happy ends if the stream of her    
life had not been so early dammed and   
polluted4 ,she loved her child with a   
clutching1 feverish affection1 and      
declared that he would some day rule    
,rome4 ,this was not really such a      
far-away dream1 when we remember that   
her brother was then ,emperor and       

childless4 ,her thought was more for her
 child than for herself1 and her        
expectation was that he would succeed   
,caligula4 ,the persistency with which  
she told this ambition for her boy is   
both beautiful and pathetic4 ,every     
mother sees her own life projected in   
her child1 and within certain bounds    
this is right and well4  ,glimpses of   
kindness and right intent are shown when
 ,agrippina recalled ,seneca1 and when  
she became the mother of the motherless 
children of ,claudius4 ,she publicly    
adopted these children1 and for a time  
gave them every attention and advantage 
that was bestowed upon her own son4     
,gibbon says for one woman to mother    
another woman's children is a diplomatic
 card often played1 but ,gibbon         
sometimes quibbles4  ,gradually the     
fierce desire of ,agrippina's heart     
began to manifest itself4 ,she plotted  
and arranged that ,nero should marry    
,octavia1 the daughter of ,claudius4    
,octavia was seven years older than     

,nero1 but the sooner the marriage could
 be brought about1 the better--it would 
give her a double hold on the throne4   
,to this end suitors for the hand of    
,octavia were disgraced by false        
charges1 and sent off into exile1 and   
the same fate came to at least three    
young women who stood in the way4  ,but 
the one real obstacle was ,claudius     
himself--he was sixty1 and might be so  
absurd as to live to be eighty4         
,locusta1 a famous professional chemist1
 was employed1 and the deed was done by 
,agrippina serving the deadly dish      
herself4 ,the servants carried ,claudius
 off to bed1 thinking he was merely     
drunk1 but he was to wake no more4      
,burrus1 the blunt and honest old       
soldier1 ,captain of the ,pretorian     
,guard1 sided with ,agrippina2          
,brittanicus1 the son of ,claudius1 was 
kept out of the way1 and ,nero was      
proclaimed ,emperor4  ,here ,seneca     
seems to have shown his good influence1 
and sent home a desire in the heart of  

,agrippina to serve her people with     
moderation and justice4 ,she had        
attained her ends3 her son1 a youth of  
fifteen1 was ,emperor1 and his guardian1
 the great and gentle ,seneca1 the man  
of her own choosing1 was the actual     
ruler4 ,she was the sister of one       
,emperor1 wife of another1 and now      
mother of a third--surely this was glory
 enough to satisfy one woman's ambition6
  ,then there came to ,rome the famed   
,quinquennium ,neronis1 when1 for five  
years1 peace and plenty smiled4 ,it is a
 trite saying that men who can not      
manage their own finances can look after
 those of a nation1 but ,seneca was a   
businessman who proved his ability to   
manage his own private affairs and also 
succeeded in managing the exchequer of a
 kingdom4 ,during his reign1            
gladiatorial contests were relieved of  
their savage brutality1 work was given  
to many1 education became popular1 and  
people said1 ,the ,age of ,augustus has 
returned4  ,but the greatest men are not

 the greatest teachers4 ,seneca's policy
 with his pupil1 ,nero1 was one of      
concession4  ,a close study of the youth
 of ,nero reveals the same traits that  
outcrop in one-half the students at     
,harvard--traits ill-becoming to        
grown-up men1 but not at all alarming in
 youth4 ,nero was self-willed and       
occasionally had tantrums--but a tantrum
 is only a little whirl-wind of         
misdirected energy4 ,a tantrum is life  
plus--it is better far than stagnation1 
and usually works up into useful life1  
and sometimes into great art4 ,we have  
some verses written by ,nero in his     
seventeenth year that show a good ,class
 ,b sophomoric touch4 ,he danced1 played
 in the theatricals1 raced horses1      
fought dogs1 twanged the harp1 and      
exploited various other musical         
instruments4 ,he wasn't nearly so bad as
 ,alcibiades1 but his mother lavished on
 him her maudlin love1 and allowed the  
fallacy to grow in his mind concerning  
the divinity that doth hedge a king4 ,in

 fact1 when he asked his mother about   
his real father1 she hid the truth that 
his father was a rogue--perhaps to      
shield herself1 for it is only a very   
great person who can tell the truth--and
 led him to believe his paternal parent 
was a god1 and his birth miraculous4    
,now1 let such an idea get into the head
 of the average freshman and what will  
be the result8 ,a woman can tell a      
full-grown man that he is the greatest  
thing that ever happened1 and it does no
 special harm1 for the man knows better 
than to go out on the street and        
proclaim it2 but you tell a boy of      
eighteen such pleasing fallacies1 and   
then have fawning courtiers back them   
up1 and at the same time give the youth 
free access to the strong box1 and it   
surely would be a miracle if he is not  
doubly damned1 and quickly1 too4        
,agrippina would not allow the blunt old
 ,burrus to discipline her boy1 and     
,seneca's plan was one of concession--he
 loved peace4 ,he hated to thwart the   

boy1 because he knew that it would      
arouse the ire of the mother1 whose love
 had run away with her commonsense4     
,love is beautiful--soft1 yielding1     
gentle love--but the common law of      
,england upholds wife-beating as being  
justifiable and desirable on certain    
occasions4  ,the real trouble was1 the  
dam was out for ,agrippina and          
,nero--there was no restraint for       
either4 ,there was no one to teach them 
that the liberty of one man ends where  
the right of another begins4 ,no more   
frightful condition for any man or woman
 can ever occur than this3 to take away 
all responsibility4  ,when ,socrates put
 the chesty ,alcibiades three points    
down1 and jumped on his stomach with his
 knees1 the youth had a month in bed1   
and after he got around again he        
possessed a most wholesome regard for   
his teacher4 ,if ,burrus and ,seneca had
 applied ,brockway methods to ,agrippina
 and her saucy son1 as they easily      
might1 it would have made ,rome howl    

with delight1 and saved the ,state as   
well as the individuals4  ,julius       
,caesar1 like ,lincoln1 let everybody do
 as they wished1 up to a certain point4 
,but all realized that somewhere behind 
that dulcet voice and the gentle manner 
was a heart of flint and nerves of      
steel4 ,no woman ever made ,julius      
,caesar dance to syncopated time1 nor   
did a youth of eighteen ever            
successfully order him to take part in  
amateur theatricals on penalty4 ,julius 
,caesar and ,seneca were both scholars1 
both were gentlemen and gentle men3     
their mental attitude was much the same1
 but one had a will of adamant1 and the 
other moved in the line of least        
resistance4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,gradually1 ,nero   
evolved a petulance and impatience      
toward his mother and his tutor1 all of 
which was quite a natural consequence of
 his education4 ,every endeavor to      
restrain him was met with imprecations  
and curses4 ,about then would have been 

a good time to apply heroic treatment1  
instead of halting fear and worshipful  
acquiescence4  ,the raw stock for making
 a ,nero is in every school1 and given  
the conditions1 a tyrant-culture would  
be easy to evolve4 ,the endeavor to make
 ,nero wed ,octavia caused a revulsion  
to occur in his heart toward her and her
 brother ,brittanicus4 ,he feared that  
these two might combine and wrest from  
him the throne4  ,locusta1 the          
specialist1 was again sent for and      
,brittanicus was gathered to his        
fathers4  ,soon after1 ,nero fell into a
 deep infatuation for ,poppae ,sabina1  
wife of ,otho1 the most beautiful woman 
in ,rome4 ,sabina refused to accept his 
advances so long as he was tied to his  
mother's apron-strings--,i use the exact
 phrase of ,tacitus1 so ,i trust no     
exceptions will be taken to the         
expression4 ,nero came to believe that  
the tagging1 nagging1 mushy love of his 
mother was standing in the way of his   
advancement4 ,he had come to know that  

,agrippina had caused the death of      
,claudius1 and when she accused him of  
poisoning ,brittanicus1 he said1 ,i     
learned the trick from my dear mother6  
and honors were even4  ,he knew the     
crafty quality of his mother's mind and 
grew to fear her4 ,and fear and hate are
 one4 ,to secure ,sabina he must        
sacrifice ,agrippina4  ,he would be     
free4  ,to poison her would not do--she 
was an expert in preventives4  ,so      
,nero1 regardless of expense1 bargained 
with ,anicetus1 admiral of the fleet1 to
 construct a ship so that1 when certain 
bolts were withdrawn1 the craft would   
sink and tell no tale4 ,this was a bit  
of daring deviltry never before devised1
 and by turn1 ,nero chuckled in glee and
 had cold sweats of fear as he          
congratulated himself on his astuteness4
  ,the boat was built and ,agrippina was
 enticed on board4 ,the night of the    
excursion was calm1 but the             
conspirators1 fearing the chance might  
never come again1 let go the canopy1    

loaded with lead1 which was over the    
queen4 ,it fell with a crash2 and at the
 same time the bolts were withdrawn and 
the waters rushed in4 ,several of the   
servants in attendance were killed by   
the fall of the awning1 but ,agrippina  
and ,aceronia1 a lady of quality1       
escaped from the debris only slightly   
hurt4 ,aceronia1 believing the ship was 
about to sink1 called for help1 saying1 
,i am ,agrippina4 ,she erred slightly in
 her diplomacy1 for she was at once     
struck on the head with an oar and      
killed4 ,this gave ,agrippina a clew to 
the situation and she was silent4 ,by a 
strange perversity1 the royal scuttling 
patent would not work and the boat      
stubbornly refused to sink4  ,agrippina 
got safely ashore and sent word to her  
son that there had been a terrible      
accident1 but she was safe--the intent  
of her letter being to let him know that
 she understood the matter perfectly1   
and while she could not admire the job1 
it was so bungling1 yet she would       

forgive him if he would not try it      
again4  ,in wild consternation1 ,nero   
sent for ,burrus and ,seneca4 ,this was 
their first knowledge of the affair4    
,they refused to act in either way1 but 
,burrus intimated that ,anicetus was the
 guilty party and should be held        
responsible4  ,for not completing the   
task8 said ,nero4  ,yes1 said the blunt 
old soldier1 and retired4  ,anicetus was
 notified that the blame of the whole   
conspiracy was on him4 ,a big crime1    
well carried out1 is its own excuse for 
being2 but failure1 like unto genius1 is
 unforgivable4  ,anicetus was in        
disgrace1 but only temporarily1 for he  
towed the obstinate1 telltale galley    
into deep water and sank her at dead of 
night4 ,then with a few faithful        
followers he surrounded the villa where 
,agrippina was resting1 scattered her   
guard and confronted her with drawn     
sword4  ,years before1 a soothsayer had 
told her that her son would be ,emperor 
and that he would kill her4 ,her answer 

was1 ,let them slay me1 if he but reign4
  ,now she saw that death was nigh4 ,she
 did not try to escape1 nor did she     
plead for mercy1 but cried1 ,plunge your
 sword through my womb1 for it bore     
,nero4  ,and ,anicetus1 with one blow1  
struck her dead4  ,nero returned to     
,naples to mourn his loss4 ,from there  
he sent forth a lengthy message to the  
,senate1 recounting the accidental      
shipwreck1 and telling how ,agrippina   
had plotted against his life1 recounting
 her crimes in deprecatory1 sophistical 
phrase4 ,the document wound up by       
telling how she had tried to secure the 
throne for a paramour1 and the truth    
coming to some o'erzealous friends of   
the ,state1 they had arisen and taken   
her life4 ,in ,rome there was a strong  
feeling that ,nero should not be allowed
 to return1 but this message of         
explanation and promise1 written by     
,seneca1 downed the opposition4  ,the   
,senate accepted the report1 and ,nero1 
at twenty-two1 found himself master of  

the world4  ,yet what booted it when he 
was not master of himself6  ,from this  
time on1 the career of ,seneca was one  
of contumely1 suffering and disgrace4   
,this was to endure for six years1 when 
kindly death was then to set him free4  
,the mutual1 guilty knowledge of a great
 crime breeds loathing and contempt4    
,history contains many such instances   
where the subject had knowledge of the  
sovereign's sins1 and the sovereign     
found no rest until the man who knew was
 beneath the sod4  ,seneca knew ,nero as
 only his ,maker knew him4  ,after the  
first spasm of exultation in being      
allowed to return to ,rome1 a jealous   
dread of ,seneca came over the guilty   
monarch4  ,seneca hoped against hope    
that1 now that ,nero's wild oats were   
sown and the crop destroyed1 all would  
be well4 ,the past should be buried and 
remembrance of it sunk deep in oblivion4
  ,but ,nero feared ,seneca might expose
 his worthlessness and the philosopher  
himself take the reins4 ,in this ,nero  

did not know his man3 ,seneca's love was
 literary--political power to him was   
transient and not worth while4  ,it     
became known that the apology to the    
,senate was the work of ,seneca1 and    
,nero1 who wanted the world to think    
that all his speeches and addresses were
 his own1 got it firmly fixed in his    
head he would not be happy until ,seneca
 was out of the way4 ,sabina said he was
 no longer a boy1 and should not be     
tagged and dictated to by his old       
teacher4  ,seneca1 seeing what was      
coming1 offered to give his entire      
property to the ,state and retire4 ,nero
 would not have it so--he feared ,seneca
 would retire only to come back with an 
army4 ,a cordon of spies was put around 
,seneca's house--he was practically a   
prisoner4 ,attempts were made to poison 
him1 but he ate only fruit1 and bread   
made by his wife1 ,paulina1 and drank no
 water except from running streams4     
,finally a charge of conspiracy was     
fastened upon him1 and ,nero ordered him

 to die by his own hand4 ,his wife was  
determined to go with him1 and one      
stroke severed the veins of both4  ,the 
beautiful ,sabina realized her          
hopes--she divorced her husband1 and    
married the ,emperor of ,rome4 ,she died
 from a sudden kick given her by the    
booted foot of her liege4  ,three years 
after the death of ,seneca1 ,nero passed
 hence by the same route1 killing       
himself to escape the fury of the       
,pretorian ,guard4 ,and so ended the    
,julian line1 none of whom1 except the  
first1 was a ,julian4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,from the
 death of ,augustus on to the time of   
,nero there was for ,rome a steady tide 
of disintegration4 ,the ,emperor was the
 head of the ,church1 and he usually    
encouraged the idea that he was         
something different from common         
men--that his mission was from ,on ,high
 and that he should be worshiped4       
,gibbon1 making a free translation from 
,seneca1 says1 ,religion was regarded by

 the common people as true1 by the      
philosophers as false1 and by the rulers
 as useful4 ,and ,saint ,augustine1     
using the same smoothly polished style1 
says1 in reference to a ,roman ,senator1
 ,he worshiped what he blamed1 he did   
what he refuted1 he adored that with    
which he found fault4 ,the sentence is  
,seneca's1 and when he wrote it he      
doubtless had himself in mind1 for in   
spite of his ,stoic philosophy the life 
of luxury lured him1 and although he    
sang the praises of poverty he charged a
 goodly sum for so doing1 and the nobles
 who listened to him doubtless found a  
vicarious atonement by applauding him as
 he played to the gallery gods of their 
self-esteem1 like rich ladies who go    
a-slumming mix in with the poor on an   
equality1 and then hasten home to dress 
for dinner4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,seneca was one of  
the purest and loftiest intellects the  
world has ever known4 ,canon ,farrar    
calls him ,a ,seeker after ,god1 and has

 printed parallel passages from ,saint  
,paul and ,seneca which1 for many1 seem 
to show that the men were in            
communication with each other4 ,every   
ethical maxim of ,christianity was      
expressed by this noble pagan1 and his  
influence was always directed toward    
that which he thought was right4 ,his   
mistakes were all in the line of        
infirmities of the will4 ,voltaire calls
 him1 ,the father of all those who wear 
shovel hats1 and in another place refers
 to him as an amateur ascetic1 but in   
this the author of the ,philosophical   
,dictionary pays ,seneca the indirect   
compliment of regarding him as a        
,christian4 ,renan says1 ,seneca shines 
out like a great white star through a   
rift of clouds on a night of darkness4  
,the wonder is not that ,seneca at times
 lapsed from his high estate and        
manifested his ,sophist training1 but   
that to the day of his death he saw the 
truth with unblinking eyes and held the 
,ideal firmly in his heart4             

,,aristotle        ,happiness itself is 
sufficient excuse4 ,beautiful things are
 right      and true2 so beautiful      
actions are those pleasing to the gods4 
,wise      men have an inward sense of  
what is beautiful1 and the highest      
wisdom is to trust this intuition and be
 guided by it4 ,the answer      to the  
last appeal of what is right lies within
 a man's own breast4      ,trust        
thyself4                                
--,ethics of ,aristotle  ,illustration3 
,,aristotle   ,the ,sublime ,porte      
recently issued a request to the        
,american ,bible ,society1 asking that  
references to ,macedonia be omitted from
 all ,bibles circulated in ,turkey or   
,turkish provinces4 ,the argument of    
,his ,sublimity is that the ,macedonian 
cry1 ,come over and help us6 puts him   
and his people in a bad light4 ,he ends 
his most courteous petition by saying1  
,the land that produced a ,philip1 an   
,alexander the ,great and an ,aristotle1
 and that today has citizens who are the

 equal of these1 needs nothing from our 
dear brothers1 the ,americans1 but to be
 let alone4  ,as to the statement that  
,macedonia today has citizens who are   
the equals of ,philip1 ,alexander and   
,aristotle1 the proposition1 probably1  
is based on the confession of the       
citizens themselves1 and therefore may  
be truth4 ,great men are only great     
comparatively4 ,it is the stupidity of  
the many that allows one man to bestride
 the narrow world like a ,colossus4 ,in 
the time of ,alexander and ,aristotle   
there wasn't so much competition as now1
 so perhaps what we take to be lack of  
humor on the part of the ,sublime ,porte
 may have a basis in fact4  ,aristotle  
was born ,three ,hundred ,eighty-four   
,b4,c41 at the village of ,stagira in   
the mountains of ,macedonia4 ,king      
,amyntas used to live at ,stagira       
several months in the year and hunt the 
wild hogs that fed on the acorns which  
grew in the gorges and valleys4         
,mountain climbing and hunting was      

dangerous sport1 and it was well to have
 a surgeon attached to the royal party1 
so the father of ,aristotle served in   
that capacity4 ,no doubt1 though1 but   
the whole outfit was decidedly barbaric1
 even including the doctor's little son 
,aristo1 who refused to be left behind4 
,the child's mother had died years      
before1 and boys without mothers are apt
 to manage their fathers4 ,and so       
,aristo was allowed to trot along by his
 father's side1 carrying a formidable   
bow1 which he himself had made1 with a  
quiver of arrows at his back4  ,those   
were great times when the ,king came to 
,stagira6  ,when the ,king went back to 
the capital everybody received presents1
 and the good doctor1 by some chance1   
was treated best of all1 and little     
,aristo came in for the finest bow that 
ever was1 all tipped with silver and    
eagle-feathers4 ,but the bow did not    
bring good luck1 for soon after1 the    
boy's father was caught in an avalanche 
of sliding stone and crushed to death4  

,aristo was taken in charge by          
,proxenus1 a near kinsman4 ,the lad was 
so active at climbing1 so full of life  
and energy and good spirits1 that when  
the ,king came the next year to         
,stagira1 he asked for ,aristo4 ,with   
the ,king was his son ,philip1 a lad    
about the age of ,aristo1 but not so    
tall nor so active4 ,the boys became    
fast friends1 and once when a stranger  
saw them together he complimented the   
,king on his fine1 intelligent boys1 and
 the ,king had to explain1 ,the other   
boy is mine--but ,i wish they both were4
  ,aristo knew where the wild boars fed 
in gulches1 and where the stunted oaks  
grew close and thick4 ,higher up in the 
mountains there were bears1 which       
occasionally came down and made the wild
 pigs scamper4 ,you could always tell   
when the bears were around1 for then the
 little pigs would run out into the     
open4 ,the bears had a liking for little
 pigs1 and the bears had a liking for   
the honey in the bee-trees1 too4 ,aristo

 could find the bee-trees better than   
the bears--all you had to do was to     
watch the flight of the bees as they    
left the clover4  ,then there were      
deer--you could see their tracks any    
time around the mountain marshes where  
the springs gushed forth and the        
watercress grew lush4 ,still higher up  
the mountains1 beyond where bears ever  
traveled1 there were mountain-sheep1 and
 still higher up were goats4 ,the goats 
were so wild that hardly any one but    
,aristo had ever seen them1 but he knew 
they were there4  ,the ,king was        
delighted to have such a lad as         
companion for his son1 and insisted that
 he should go back to the capital with  
them and become a member of the ,court4 
,not he--there were other ambitions4 ,he
 wanted to go to ,athens and study at   
the school of ,plato--,plato1 the pupil 
of the great ,socrates4  ,the ,king     
laughed--he had never heard of ,plato4  
,that a youth should refuse to become   
part of the ,macedonian ,court1         

preferring the company of an unknown    
school-master1 was amusing--he laughed4 
,the next year when the ,king came back 
to ,stagira1 ,aristo was still there4   
,and you haven't gone to ,athens yet8   
said the ,king4  ,no1 but ,i am going1  
was the firm reply4  ,we will send him1 
said the ,king to ,proxenus1 ,aristo's  
guardian4  ,and so we find ,aristo1 aged
 seventeen1 tall and straight and       
bronzed1 starting off for ,athens1 his  
worldly goods rolled up in a bearskin1  
tied about with thongs4 ,there is a     
legend to the effect that ,philip went  
with ,aristo1 and that for a time they  
were together at ,plato's school4 ,but1 
anyway1 ,philip did not remain long4    
,aristo--or ,aristotle1 we had better   
call him--remained with ,plato just     
twenty years4  ,at ,plato's school      
,aristotle was called by the boys1 the  
,stagirite1 a name that was to last him 
through life--and longer4 ,in ,winter he
 wore his bearskin1 caught over one     
shoulder1 for a robe1 and his mountain  

grace and native beauty of mind and body
 must have been a joy to ,plato from the
 first4 ,such a youth could not be      
overlooked4  ,to him that hath shall be 
given4 ,the pupil that wants to learn is
 the teacher's favorite--which is just  
as it should not be4 ,plato proved his  
humanity by giving his all to the young 
mountaineer4 ,plato was then a little   
over sixty years of age--about the same 
age that ,socrates was when ,plato      
became his pupil4 ,but the years had    
touched ,plato lightly--unlike          
,socrates1 he had endured no ,thracian  
winters in bare feet1 neither had he    
lived on cold snacks picked up here and 
there1 as ,providence provided4 ,plato  
was a bachelor4 ,he still wore the      
purple robe1 proud1 dignified1 yet      
gentle1 and his back was straight as    
that of a youth4 ,lowell once said1     
,when ,i hear ,plato's name mentioned1  
,i always think of ,george ,william     
,curtis--a combination of pride and     
intellect1 a man's strength fused with a

 woman's gentleness4  ,plato was an     
aristocrat4 ,he accepted only such      
pupils as he invited1 or those that were
 sent by royalty4 ,like ,franz ,liszt1  
he charged no tuition1 which plan1 by   
the way1 is a good scheme for getting   
more money than could otherwise be      
obtained1 although no such selfish      
charge should be brought against either 
,plato or ,liszt4 ,yet every benefit    
must be paid for1 and whether you use   
the word fee or honorarium1 matters     
little4 ,i hear there be lecturers who  
accept invitations to banquets and      
accept an honorarium mysteriously placed
 on the mantel1 when they would scorn a 
fee4  ,plato's ,garden ,school1 where   
the pupils reclined under the trees on  
marble benches1 and read and talked1 or 
listened to lectures by the ,master1 was
 almost an ideal place4 ,not the ideal  
for us1 because we believe that the     
mental and the manual must go hand in   
hand4 ,the world of intellect should not
 be separated from the world of work4   

,it was too much to expect that in a    
time when slavery was everywhere1 ,plato
 would see the fallacy of having one set
 of men to do the thinking1 and another 
do the work4 ,we haven't got far from   
that yet2 only free men can see the     
whole truth1 and a free man is one who  
lives in a country where there are no   
slaves4 ,to own slaves is to be one1 and
 to live in a land of slavery is to     
share in the bondage--a partaker in the 
infamy and the profits4  ,plato and     
,aristotle became fast                  
friends--comrades4 ,with thinking men   
years do not count--only those grow old 
who think by proxy4 ,plato had no sons  
after the flesh1 and the love of his    
heart went out to the ,stagirite3 in him
 he saw his own life projected4  ,when  
,aristotle had turned twenty he was     
acquainted with all the leading thinkers
 of his time2 he read constantly1 wrote1
 studied and conversed4 ,the little     
property his father left had come to    
him2 the ,king of ,macedon sent him     

presents2 and he taught various pupils  
from wealthy families--finances were    
easy4 ,but success did not spoil him4   
,the brightest scholars do not make the 
greatest success in life1 because alma  
mater usually catches them for teachers4
 ,sometimes this is well1 but more often
 it is not4 ,plato would not hear of    
,aristotle's leaving him1 and so he     
remained1 the chief ornament and        
practical leader of the school4  ,he    
became rich1 owned the largest private  
library at ,athens1 and was universally 
regarded as the most learned man of his 
time4  ,in many ways he had surpassed   
,plato4 ,he delved into natural history1
 collected plants1 rocks1 animals1 and  
made studies of the practical workings  
of economic schemes4 ,he sought to      
divest the ,platonic teaching of its    
poetry1 discarded rhetoric1 and tried to
 get at the simple truth of all         
subjects4  ,toward the last of ,plato's 
career this repudiation by ,aristotle of
 poetry1 rhetoric1 elocution and the    

polite accomplishments caused a schism  
to break out in the ,garden ,school4    
,plato's head was in the clouds at      
times2 ,aristotle's was1 too1 but his   
feet were always on the earth4  ,when   
,plato died1 ,aristotle was his natural 
successor as leader of the school1 but  
there was opposition to him1 both on    
account of his sturdy1 independent ways 
and because he was a foreigner4  ,he    
left ,athens to become a member of the  
,court of ,hermias1 a former pupil1 now 
,king of ,atarneus4  ,he remained here  
long enough to marry the niece of his   
patron1 and doubtless saw himself       
settled for life--a kingly crown within 
his reach should his student-sovereign  
pass away4  ,and the royal friend did   
pass away1 by the dagger's route4 ,as   
life-insurance risks ,i am told that    
,kings have to pay double premium4      
,revolution broke out1 and as ,aristotle
 was debating in his mind what course to
 pursue1 a messenger with soldiers      
arrived from ,king ,philip of ,macedon1 

offering safe convoy1 enclosing         
transportation1 and asking that         
,aristotle come and take charge of the  
education of his son1 ,alexander1 aged  
thirteen4  ,aristotle did not wait to   
parley3 he accepted the invitation4     
,horses were saddled1 camels packed and 
that night1 before the moon arose1 the  
cavalcade silently moved out into the   
desert4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,the offer that had been   
made twenty-four years before1 by       
,philip's father1 was now accepted4     
,aristotle was forty-two years old1 in  
the prime of his power4 ,time had       
tempered his passions1 but not subdued  
his zest in life4 ,he had the curious1  
receptive1 alert and eager mind of a    
child4 ,his intellect was at its ripest 
and best4 ,he was a lover of animals1   
and all outdoor life appealed to him as 
it does to a growing boy4 ,he was a     
daring horseman1 and we hear of his     
riding off into the desert and sleeping 
on the sands1 his horse untethered      

watching over him4 ,aristotle was the   
first man to make a scientific study of 
the horse1 and with the help of         
,alexander he set up a skeleton1        
fastening the bones in place1 to the    
mighty astonishment of the natives1 who 
mistook the feat for an attempt to make 
a living animal2 and when the beast was 
not at last saddled and bridled there   
were subdued chuckles of satisfaction   
among the hoi polloi at the failure of  
the scheme1 and murmurs of ,i told you  
so6  ,eighteen hundred years were to    
pass before another man was to take up  
the horse as a serious scientific study2
 and this was ,leonardo da ,vinci1 a man
 in many ways very much like ,aristotle4
 ,the distinguishing feature in these   
men--the thing that differentiates them 
from other men--was the great outpouring
 sympathy with every living creature4   
,everything they saw was related to     
themselves--it came very close to       
them--they wanted to know more about it4
 ,this is essentially the child-mind1   

and the calamity of life is to lose it4 
,leonardo became interested in          
,aristotle's essay on the horse1 and    
continued the subject further1          
dissecting the animal in minutest detail
 and illustrating his discoveries with  
painstaking drawings4 ,his work is so   
complete and exhaustive that nobody     
nowadays has time to more than read the 
title-page4 ,leonardo's bent was natural
 science1 and his first attempts at     
drawing were done to illustrate his     
books4 ,art was beautiful1 of course--it
 brought in an income1 made friends and 
brought him close to people who saw     
nothing unless you made a picture of it4
 ,he made pictures for recreation and to
 amuse folks1 and his threat to put the 
peeping ,prior into the ,last ,supper1  
posed as ,judas1 revealed his contempt  
for the person to whom a picture was    
just a picture4 ,the marvel to ,leonardo
 was the mind that could imagine1 the   
hand that could execute1 and the soul   
that could see4  ,and the curious part  

is that ,leonardo lives for us through  
his play and not through his serious    
work4 ,his science has been superseded1 
but his art is immortal4  ,this         
expectant mental attitude1 this attitude
 of worship1 belongs to all great       
scientists4 ,the man divines the thing  
first and then looks for it1 just as the
 ,herschels knew where the star ought to
 be and then patiently waited for it4   
,the ,bishop of ,london said that if    
,darwin had spent one-half as much time 
in reading his ,bible as in studying    
earthworms1 he would have really        
benefited the world1 and saved his soul 
alive4 ,to ,walt ,whitman1 a hair on the
 back of his hand was just as curious   
and wonderful as the stars in the sky1  
or ,god's revelation to man through a   
printed book4  ,aristotle loved animals 
as a boy loves them--his house was a    
regular menagerie of pets1 and into this
 world of life ,alexander was very early
 introduced4 ,we hear of young          
,alexander breaking the wild horse1     

,bucephalus1 and beyond a doubt         
,aristotle was seated on the top rail of
 the paddock when he threw the lariat4  
,aristotle and his pupil had the first  
circus of which we know1 and they also  
inaugurated the first ,zoological       
,garden mentioned in history1 barring   
,noah1 of course4  ,so much was         
,alexander bound up in this menagerie1  
and in his old teacher as well1 that in 
after-life1 in all of his travels1 he   
was continually sending back to         
,aristotle specimens of every sort of   
bird1 beast and fish to be found in the 
countries through which he traveled4    
,when ,philip was laid low by the       
assassin's thrust1 it was ,aristotle who
 backed up ,alexander1 aged twenty--but 
a man--in his prompt suppression of the 
revolution4 ,the will that had been used
 to subdue man-eating stallions and to  
train wild animals1 now came in to      
repress riot1 and the systematic        
classification of things was a          
preparation for the forming of an army  

out of a mob4 ,aristotle said1 ,an army 
is a huge animal with a million         
claws--it must have only one brain1 and 
that the commander's4  ,alexander gave  
credit again and again to ,aristotle for
 those elements in his character that   
went to make up success3 steadiness of  
purpose1 self-reliance1 systematic      
effort1 mathematical calculation1       
attention to details1 and a broad and   
generous policy that sees the end4      
,when ,aristotle argued with ,philip1   
years before1 that horse-breaking should
 be included in the educational         
curriculum of all young men1 he         
evidently divined football and was      
endeavoring to supplant it4         99  
99       99       99       99  ,i think 
history has been a trifle severe on     
,alexander4 ,he was elected             
,captain-,general of ,greece1 and       
ordered to repel the ,persian invasion4 
,and he did the business once for all4  
,war is not all fighting--,providence is
 on the side of the strongest           

commissariat4 ,alexander had to train1  
arm1 clothe and feed a million men1 and 
march them long miles across a desert   
country4 ,the real foe of a man is in   
his own heart1 and the foe of an army is
 in its own camp--disease takes more    
prisoners than the enemy4 ,fever sniped 
more of our boys in blue than did the   
hostile ,filipinos4  ,alexander's losses
 were principally from men slain in     
battle2 from this1 ,i take it that      
,alexander knew a deal of sanitary      
science1 and had a knowledge of         
practical mathematics1 in order to      
systematize that mob of restless1       
turbulent helots4 ,we hear of ,aristotle
 cautioning him that safety lies in     
keeping his men busy--they must not have
 too much time to think1 otherwise      
mutiny is to be feared4 ,still1 they    
must not be over-worked1 or they will be
 in no condition to fight when the      
eventful time occurs4 ,and we are amazed
 to see this3 ,do not let your men drink
 out of stagnant pools--,athenians1     

city-born1 know no better4 ,and when you
 carry water on the desert marches1 it  
should be first boiled to prevent its   
getting sour4  ,concerning the ,jews1   
,alexander writes to his teacher and    
says1 ,they are apt to be in sullen     
rebellion against their governors1      
receiving orders only from their high   
priests1 and this leads to severe       
measures1 which are construed as        
persecution2 all of which might have    
been written yesterday by the ,czar in a
 message to ,the ,hague ,convention4    
,alexander captured the ,east1 and was  
taken captive by the ,east4 ,like the   
male bee that never lives to tell the   
tale of its wooing1 he succeeded and    
died4 ,yet he vitalized all ,asia with  
the seeds of ,greek philosophy1 turned  
back the hungry barbaric tide1 and made 
a new map of the ,eastern world4 ,he    
built far more cities than he destroyed4
 ,he set ,andrew ,carnegie an example at
 ,alexandria1 such as the world had     
never up to that time seen4 ,at the     

entrance to the harbor of the same city 
he erected a lighthouse1 surpassing far 
the one at ,minot's ,ledge1 or ,race    
,rock4 ,this structure endured for two  
centuries1 and when at last wind and    
weather had their way1 there was no     
,hopkinson ,smith who could erect       
another4  ,at ,thebes1 ,alexander paid a
 compliment to letters1 by destroying   
every building in the city except the   
house of the poet1 ,pindar4 ,at         
,corinth1 when the great1 the wise1 the 
noble1 came to pay homage1 one great man
 did not appear4 ,in vain did ,alexander
 look for his card among all those      
handed in at the door--,diogenes1 the   
,philosopher1 oft quoted by ,aristotle1 
was not to be seen4  ,alexander went out
 to hunt him up1 and found him sunning  
himself1 propped up against the wall in 
the ,public ,square1 busy doing nothing4
  ,the philosopher did not arise to     
greet the conqueror2 he did not even    
offer a nod of recognition4  ,i am      
,alexander--is there not something ,i   

can do for you8 modestly asked the      
descendant of ,hercules4  ,just stand   
out from between me and the sun1 replied
 the philosopher1 and went on with his  
meditations4  ,alexander enjoyed the    
reply so much that he said to his       
companions1 and afterward wrote to      
,aristotle1 ,if ,i were not ,alexander1 
,i would be ,diogenes1 and thus did     
strenuosity pay its tribute to          
self-sufficiency4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,aristotle might  
have assumed important affairs of       
,state1 but practical politics were not 
to his liking4 ,what ,aristotle is in   
the world of thought ,i will be in the  
world of action1 said ,alexander4  ,on  
all of his journeys ,alexander found    
time to keep in touch with his old      
teacher at home2 and we find the ruler  
of ,asia voicing that old request1 ,send
 me something to read1 and again1 ,i    
live alone with my thoughts1 amidst a   
throng of men1 but without companions4  
,plutarch gives a copy of a letter sent 

by ,alexander wherein ,aristotle is     
chided for publishing his lecture on    
oratory4 ,now all the world will know   
what formerly belonged to you and me    
alone1 plaintively cries the young man  
who sighed for more worlds to conquer1  
and therein shows he was the victim of a
 fallacy that will never die--the idea  
that truth can be embodied in a book4   
,when will we ever learn that inspired  
books demand inspired readers6  ,there  
are no secrets4 ,a book may stimulate   
thought1 but it can never impart it4    
,aristotle wrote out the ,laws of       
,oratory4 ,alas6 groans ,alexander1     
everybody will turn orator now4 ,but he 
was wrong1 because ,oratory and the     
,laws of ,oratory are totally different 
things4  ,a ,boston man of excellent    
parts has just recently given out the   
,sixteen ,perfective ,laws of ,oratory1 
and the ,nineteen ,steps in ,evolution4 
,the real truth is1 there are           
,fifty-seven ,varieties of ,artistic    
,vagaries1 and all are valuable to the  

man who evolves them--they serve him as 
a scaffolding whereby he builds thought4
 ,but woe betide ,alexander and all     
rareripe ,bostonians who mistake the    
scaffolding for the edifice4  ,there are
 no ,laws of ,art4 ,a man evolves first1
 and builds his laws afterward4 ,the    
style is the man1 and a great man1 full 
of the spirit1 will express himself in  
his own way4  ,bach ignored all the     
,laws of ,harmony made before his day   
and set down new ones--and these marked 
his limitations1 that was all4          
,beethoven upset all these1 and ,wagner 
succeeded by breaking most of           
,beethoven's rules4 ,and now comes      
,grieg1 and writes harmonious discords  
that ,wagner said were impossible1 and  
still it is music1 for by it we are     
transported on the wings of song and    
uplifted to the stars4  ,the individual 
soul striving for expression ignores all
 man-made laws4 ,truth is that which    
serves us best in expressing our lives4 
,a rotting log is truth to a bed of     

violets1 while sand is truth to a       
cactus4 ,but when the violet writes a   
book on ,expression as ,i ,have ,found  
,it1 making laws for the evolution of   
beautiful blossoms1 it leaves the       
,century ,plant out of its equation1 or 
else swears1 i' faith1 that a cactus is 
not a flower1 and that a                
,night-,blooming ,cereus is a disordered
 thought from a madman's brain4 ,and    
when the proud and lofty cactus writes a
 book it never mentions violets1 because
 it has never stooped to seek them4     
,art is the blossoming of the ,soul4    
,we can not make the plant blossom--all 
we can do is to comply with the         
conditions of growth4 ,we can supply the
 sunshine1 moisture and aliment1 and    
,god does the rest4 ,in teaching1 he    
only is successful who supplies the     
conditions of growth--that is all there 
is of the ,science of ,pedagogics1 which
 is not a science1 and if it ever       
becomes one1 it will be the ,science of 
,letting ,alone1 and not a scheme of    

interference4 ,just so long as some of  
the greatest men are those who have     
broken through pedagogic fancy and      
escaped1 succeeding by breaking every   
rule of pedagogy1 as ,wagner discarded  
every ,law of ,harmony1 there will be no
 such thing as a ,science of ,education4
  ,recently ,i read ,aristotle's ,essays
 on ,rhetoric and ,oratory1 and ,i was  
pained to see how ,i had been           
plagiarized by this man who wrote three 
hundred years before ,christ4 ,aristotle
 used charts in teaching and indicated  
the mean by a straight horizontal line1 
and the extreme by an upright dash4 ,he 
says3 ,from one extreme the mean looks  
extreme1 and from another extreme the   
mean looks small--it all depends upon   
your point of view4 ,beware of jumping  
to conclusions1 for beside the          
appearance you must look within and see 
from what vantage-ground you gain the   
conclusions4 ,all truth is relative1 and
 none can be final to a man six feet    
high1 who stands on the ground1 who can 

walk but forty miles at a stretch1 who  
needs four meals a day and one-third of 
his time for sleep4 ,a loss of sleep1 or
 loss of a meal1 or a meal too much1    
will disarrange his point of view1 and  
change his opinions1 ,and thus do we see
 that a belief in eternal punishment is 
a mere matter of indigestion4  ,a       
certain bishop1 we have seen1           
experienced a regret that ,darwin       
expended so much time on earthworms2 and
 we might also express regret that      
,aristotle did not spend more4 ,as long 
as he confined himself to earth1 he was 
eminently sure and right3 he was really 
the first man who ever used his eyes4   
,but when he quit the earth1 and began  
to speculate about the condition of     
souls before they are clothed with      
bodies1 or what becomes of them after   
they discard the body1 or the nature of 
,god1 he shows that he knew no more than
 we4 ,that is to say1 he knew no more   
than the barbarians who preceded him4   
,he attempted to grasp ideas which      

,herbert ,spencer pigeonholes forever as
 the ,unknowable2 and in some of his    
endeavors to make plain the unknowable1 
,aristotle strains language to the      
breaking-point--the net bursts and all  
of his fish go free4 ,here is an        
,aristotelian proposition1 expressed by 
,hegel to make lucid a thing nobody     
comprehends3 ,essential being as being  
that meditates with itself1 with itself 
by the negativity of itself1 is relative
 to itself only as it is relative to    
another2 that is1 immediate only as     
something posited and meditated4 ,it    
gives one a slight shock to hear him    
speak of headache being caused by wind  
on the brain1 or powdered               
grasshopper-wings being a cure for gout1
 but when he calls the heart a pump that
 forces the blood to the extremities1 we
 see that he anticipates ,harvey1       
although more than two thousand years of
 night lie between them4  ,some of      
,aristotle reads about like this        
,geometrical ,domestic ,equation3       

,definitions3  ,all boarding-houses are 
the same boarding-houses4  ,boarders in 
the same boarding-house1 and on the same
 flat1 are equal to one another4  ,a    
single room is that which hath no parts 
and no magnitude4  ,the landlady of the 
boarding-house is a parallelogram--that 
is1 an oblong figure that can not be    
described1 and is equal to anything4  ,a
 wrangle is the disinclination to each  
other of two boarders that meet         
together1 but are not on the same floor4
  ,all the other rooms being taken1 a   
single room is a double room4           
,postulates and ,propositions3  ,a pie  
may be produced any number of times4    
,the landlady may be reduced to her     
lowest terms by a series of             
propositions4  ,a bee-line is the       
shortest distance between the           
,phalanstery and ,by ,allen's4  ,the    
clothes of a boarding-house bed         
stretched both ways will not meet4  ,any
 two meals at a boarding-house are      
together less than one meal at the      

,phalanstery4  ,on the same bill and on 
the same side of it there should not be 
two charges for the same thing4  ,if    
there be two boarders on the same floor1
 and the amount of the side of the one  
be equal to the amount of the side of   
the other1 and the wrangle between the  
one boarder and the landlady be equal to
 the wrangle between the landlady and   
the other boarder1 then shall the weekly
 bills of the two boarders be equal4    
,for1 if not1 let one bill be the       
greater1 then the other bill is less    
than it might have been1 which is       
absurd4 ,therefore the bills are equal4 
,quod erat demonstrandum4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,the     
business of the old philosophers was to 
philosophize4 ,to philosophize as a     
business is to miss the highest         
philosophy4 ,to do a certain amount of  
useful work every day1 and not trouble  
about either the past or the future1 is 
the highest wisdom4 ,the man who drags  
the past behind him1 and dives into the 

future1 spreads the present out thin4   
,therein lies the bane of most          
religions4 ,a man goes out into the     
woods to study the birds3 he walks and  
walks and walks and sees no birds4 ,but 
just let him sit down on a log and wait1
 and lo6 the branches are full of song4 
,those who pursue ,culture never catch  
up with her4 ,culture takes alarm at    
pursuit and avoids the stealthy pounce4 
,culture is a woman1 and a certain      
amount of indifference wins her4 ,ardent
 wooing will not secure either wisdom or
 a woman--except in the case where a    
woman marries a man to get rid of him1  
and then he really does not get the     
woman--he only secures her husk4 ,and   
the husks of culture are pedantry and   
sciolism4 ,the highest philosophy of the
 future will consist in doing each day  
that which is most useful4 ,talking     
about it will be quite incidental and   
secondary4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,after ,alexander had      
completed his little task of conquering 

the world1 it was his intention to sit  
down and improve his mind4 ,he was going
 back to ,greece to complete the work   
,pericles had so well begun4 ,to this   
end ,aristotle had left ,macedonia and  
established his ,peripatetic ,school at 
,athens4 ,plato was exclusive1 and      
taught in the ,garden with its high     
walls4 ,aristotle taught in the         
peripatos1 or porch of the ,lyceum1 and 
his classes were for all who wished to  
attend4 ,socrates was really the first  
peripatetic philosopher1 but he was a   
roustabout4 ,nothing sanctifies like    
death--and now ,socrates had become     
respectable1 and his methods were to be 
made legal and legitimate4  ,socrates   
discovered the principle of human       
liberty2 he taught the rights of the    
individual1 and as these threatened to  
interfere with the ,state1 the          
politicians got alarmed and put him to  
death4 ,plato1 much more cautious1 wrote
 his ,republic1 wherein everything is   
subordinated for the good of the ,state1

 and the individual is but a cog in a   
most perfectly lubricated machine4      
,aristotle saw that ,socrates was nearer
 right than ,plato--sin is the          
expression of individuality and is not  
wholly bad--the ,state is made up of    
individuals1 and if you suppress the    
thinking-power of the individual1 you   
will get a weak and effeminate body     
politic2 there will be none to govern4  
,the whole fabric will break down of its
 own weight4 ,a man must have the       
privilege of making a fool of           
himself--within proper bounds1 of       
course4 ,to that end learning must be   
for all1 and liberty both to listen and 
to teach should be the privilege of     
every man4  ,this is a problem that     
,boston has before it today3 ,shall free
 speech be allowed on the ,common8      
,william ,morris tried it in ,trafalgar 
,square1 to his sorrow2 but in ,hyde    
,park1 if you think you have a message1 
,london will let you give it4 ,but this 
is not considered good form1 and the    

,best ,society listen to no speeches in 
the park4 ,however1 there are signs that
 ,aristotle's outdoor school may come   
back4 ,phillips ,brooks tried outdoor   
preaching1 and if his health had not    
failed1 he might have popularized it4   
,it only wants a man who is big enough  
to inaugurate it4  ,aristotle had       
various helpers1 and arranged to give   
his lectures and conferences daily in   
certain porches or promenades4 ,these   
lectures covered the whole range of     
human thought--logic1 rhetoric1 oratory1
 physics1 ethics1 politics1 esthetics1  
and physical culture4 ,these outdoor    
talks were called exoteric1 and there   
gradually grew up esoteric lessons1     
which were for the rich or luxurious and
 the dainty4 ,and there being money in  
the esoteric lessons1 these gradually   
took the place of the exoteric1 and so  
we get the genesis of our modern private
 school or college1 where we send our   
children to be taught great things by   
great men1 for a consideration4  ,will  

the exoteric1 peripatetic school come   
back8  ,i think so4  ,i believe that    
university education will soon be free  
to every boy and girl in ,america1 and  
this without going far from home4       
,esoteric education is always more or   
less of a sham4 ,our public-school      
system is purely exoteric1 only we stop 
too soon4 ,we also give our teachers too
 much work and too little pay4 ,stop    
building warships1 and use the money to 
double the teachers' salaries1 making   
the profession respectable1 raise the   
standard of efficiency1 and the free    
university with the old ,greek ,lyceum  
will be here4  ,america must do         
this--the ,old ,world can't4 ,we have   
the money1 and we have the men and the  
women2 all that is needed is the desire1
 and this is fast awakening4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,when    
,alexander died1 of acute success1 aged 
thirty-two1 ,aristotle's sustaining prop
 was gone4 ,the ,athenians never thought
 much of the ,macedonians--not much more

 than ,saint ,paul did1 he having tried 
to convert both and failed4  ,athens was
 jealous of the power of ,alexander3    
that a provincial should thus rule the  
,mother-,country was unforgivable4 ,it  
was as if a ,canadian should make       
himself ,king of ,england6  ,everybody  
knew that ,aristotle had been the tutor 
of ,alexander1 and that they were close 
friends4 ,and that a ,macedonian should 
be the chief school-teacher in ,athens  
was an affront4 ,the very greatness of  
the man was his offense3 ,athens had    
none to match him1 and the world has    
never since matched him1 either4 ,how to
 get rid of the ,macedonian philosopher 
was the question4  ,and so our old      
friend1 heresy1 comes in again4 ,a poem 
was found1 written by ,aristotle many   
years before1 on the death of his       
friend1 ,king ,hermias1 wherein ,apollo 
was disrespectfully mentioned4 ,it was  
the old charge against ,socrates come   
back--the hemlock was brewing4 ,but life
 was sweet to ,aristotle2 he chose      

discretion to valor1 and fled to his    
country home at ,chalcis in ,euboea4    
,the humiliation of being driven from   
his work1 and the sudden change from    
active life to exile1 undermined his    
strength1 and he died in a year1 aged   
sixty-two4  ,in morals the world has    
added nothing new to the philosophy of  
,aristotle3 gentleness1 consideration1  
moderation1 mutual helpfulness1 and the 
principle that one man's privileges end 
where another man's rights begin--these 
make up the sum4 ,and on them1 all      
authorities agree1 and have for         
twenty-five hundred years4  ,the family 
relations of ,aristotle were most       
exemplary4 ,the unseemly wrangles of    
,philip and his wife were never repeated
 in the home of ,aristotle4 ,yet we will
 have to offer this fact in the         
interests of stirpiculture3 the         
inconstant ,philip and the termagant    
,olympias brought into the world        
,alexander2 whereas the sons of         
,aristotle lived their day and died1    

without making a ripple on the surface  
of history4  ,as in the scientific study
 of the horse1 no progress was made from
 the time of ,aristotle to that of      
,leonardo1 so ,hegel says there was no  
advancement in philosophy from the time 
of ,aristotle to that of ,spinoza4      
,eusebius called ,aristotle ,nature's   
,private ,secretary4  ,dante spoke of   
him as the ,master of those who know4   
,sir ,william ,hamilton said1 ,in the   
range of his powers and perceptions1    
only ,leonardo can be compared with him4
     ,,marcus ,,aurelius        ,we are 
made for co-operation1 like feet1 like  
hands1 like eyelids1      like the rows 
of the upper and lower teeth4 ,to act   
against one      another then is        
contrary to ,nature1 and it is acting   
against one      another to be vexed and
 turn away4                             
--,the ,meditations  ,illustration3     
,,marcus ,,aurelius   ,annius ,verus was
 one of the great men of ,rome4 ,he had 
been a soldier1 governor of provinces1  

judge1 senator and consul4 ,sixty years 
had passed over his head and whitened   
his hair1 but the lines of care that    
were on his fine face ten years before  
had now given way to a cherubic double  
chin1 and his complexion was ruddy as a 
baby's4 ,the entire atmosphere of the   
man was one of gentleness1 repose and   
kindly good-will4 ,annius ,verus was    
grateful to the gods1 for the years had 
brought him much good fortune1 and      
better still1 knowledge4 ,being old ,i  
shall know 444 the last of life for     
which the first was made6  ,religion    
isn't a thing outside of a man1 taught  
by priests out of a book4 ,religion is  
in the heart of man1 and its chief      
quality is resignation and a grateful   
spirit4 ,annius ,verus was religious in 
the best sense1 and his life was        
peaceful and happy4  ,and surely ,annius
 ,verus should have been content--he was
 a ,roman ,consul1 rich1 powerful1      
honored by the wisest and best men in   
,rome1 who considered it a privilege to 

come and dine at his table4 ,his villa  
was on ,mount ,coelius1 a suburb of     
,rome4 ,the house was surrounded by a   
big stone wall enclosing a tract of     
about ten acres1 where grew citron1     
orange and fig trees1 and giant cedars  
of ,lebanon lifted their branches to the
 clouds4  ,at least it seemed to little 
,marcus1 grandson of the ,consul1 as if 
they reached the clouds4 ,there was a   
long ladder running up one of these big 
cedar trees to a platform or crow's-nest
 nearly a hundred feet from the ground4 
,no boy was allowed to climb up there   
until he was twelve years old1 and when 
,marcus was ten1 time got stuck1 he     
thought1 and refused to budge4 ,but this
 was only little ,marcus' idea1 for he  
finally got to be twelve years old1 and 
then he climbed the long ladder to the  
lookout in the tree and looked down on  
the ,eternal ,city that lay below in the
 valley and stretched away over the     
seven hills4 ,often the boy would take a
 book and climb up there to read2 and   

when the good grandfather missed him1 he
 knew where to look1 and standing under 
the tree the old man would call3 ,come  
down1 ,marcus1 come down and kiss your  
old grandfather--it is lonesome down    
here6 ,come down and read to your       
grandfather who loves his little        
,marcus6  ,such an appeal as this was   
irresistible1 and the boy1 slight1 slim 
and agile1 would clamber over the side  
of the crow's-nest and down the ladder  
to the outstretched arms4  ,the boy's   
father had died when he was only three  
months old1 and the grandfather had     
adopted the child as his heir1 and      
brought ,lucilla1 the widowed mother1   
and her baby to live in his house4      
,years before1 the ,consul's wife had   
passed away1 and ,faustina1 his         
daughter1 became the lady of the house4 
,lucilla and ,faustina didn't get along 
very well together--no house is big     
enough for two families1 some man has   
said4 ,lucilla was gentle1 gracious1    
spiritual1 modest and refined2 ,faustina

 was beautiful and not without          
intellect1 but she was proud1           
domineering and fond of admiration4 ,but
 be it said to the credit of the good   
old ,consul1 he was able to suffuse the 
whole place with love1 and even if      
,faustina had a tantrum now and then1 it
 did not last long4  ,there were always 
visitors in the household--soldiers home
 on furloughs1 governors on vacations1  
lawyers who came to consult the wise and
 judicial ,verus4  ,one visitor of note 
was a man by the name of ,aurelius      
,antoninus4 ,he was about forty years   
old as ,marcus first remembered         
him--tall and straight1 with a full1    
dark beard1 and short1 curly hair       
touched with gray4 ,he was a quiet1     
self-contained man1 and at first little 
,marcus was a bit afraid of him4        
,aurelius ,antoninus had been a soldier1
 but he showed such a studious mind1 and
 was so intent on doing the right thing 
that he was made an under-secretary1    
then private secretary to the ,emperor1 

and finally he had been sent away to    
govern a rebellious province1 and put   
down mutiny by wise diplomacy instead of
 by force of arms4  ,aurelius ,antoninus
 was inclined towards the ,stoics1      
although he didn't talk much about it4  
,he usually ate but two meals a day1    
worked with the servants1 and wrote this
 in his diary1 ,men are made for each   
other3 even the inferior for the        
superior1 and these for the sake of one 
another4  ,this philosophy of the       
,stoics rather appealed to the widow    
,lucilla1 also1 and she read ,zeno with 
,aurelius ,antoninus4 ,verus did not    
object to it--he had been a soldier and 
knew the advantages of doing without    
things and of being able to make the    
things you needed1 and of living simply 
and being plain and direct in all your  
acts and speech4 ,but ,faustina laughed 
at it all--to her it was preposterous   
that one should wear plain clothing and 
no jewelry when he could buy the        
costliest and best2 and why one should  

eschew wine and meat and live on brown  
bread and fruit and cold water1 when he 
could just as well have spiced and      
costly dishes--all this was clear beyond
 her4 ,various fetes and banquets were  
given by ,faustina1 to which the young  
nobles were invited4 ,she was a         
beautiful woman and never for a moment  
forgot it1 and by some mistake or       
accident she got herself betrothed to   
three men at the same time4 ,two of     
these fought a duel and one was killed4 
,the third man looked on and hoped both 
would be killed1 for then he could have 
the woman4 ,faustina got this third man 
to challenge the survivor1 and then by  
one of those strange somersaults of fate
 the unexpected occurred4  ,faustina and
 ,aurelius ,antoninus were married4  ,it
 was a most queer mismating1 for the man
 was plain1 sincere and honorable1 and  
she was almost everything else4 ,yet she
 had wit and she had beauty1 and        
,aurelius had been living in the desert 
so long he imagined that all women were 

gentle and good4 ,the ,consul was very  
glad to unite his house with so fine and
 excellent a man as ,aurelius2 ,lucilla 
cried for two days and more and little  
,marcus cried because his mother did1   
and neither cried because ,faustina had 
gone away4  ,but grief is transient4    
,in a little over a year ,antoninus and 
,faustina came back to ,rome1 and       
brought with them a little girl baby1   
,faustina ,second4 ,marcus was very much
 interested in this baby1 and made great
 plans about how they would play        
together when she got older4  ,among    
other visitors at the house of the old  
,consul often came the ,emperor himself4
 ,hadrian and ,verus were ,spaniards and
 had been soldiers together1 and now    
,hadrian often liked to get away from   
the cares of ,state1 and in the evening 
hide himself from the office-seekers and
 flattering parasites1 in the quiet     
villa on ,mount ,coelius--he liked it   
here even better than at his own        
wonderful gardens at ,tivoli4 ,and      

little ,marcus wasn't afraid of him1    
either4 ,marcus would sit on the        
,emperor's knee and listen to tales     
about hunting wild boars and bears1 or  
men as wild4 ,then they would play tag  
or ,i-spy among the bushes and trees2   
and once ,marcus dared the ,emperor to  
climb the long ladder to the lookout in 
the big cedar4 ,hadrian accepted the    
challenge and climbed to the crow's-nest
 and cut his initials in the trunk of   
the tree4  ,instead of calling the boy  
,marcus ,verus1 the ,emperor gave him   
the name ,verissimus1 which means the   
open-eyed truthful one1 and this name   
stuck to ,marcus for life4  ,between    
,antoninus and ,marcus there grew up a  
very close friendship4 ,antoninus could 
scale the ladder up the tall cedar1     
three rungs at a time1 and come down    
hand over hand without putting his foot 
on a rest4  ,he and ,marcus built       
another crow's-nest thirty feet above   
the first4 ,they drew up the lumber by  
ropes1 and ,antoninus being sinewy and  

strong climbed up first1 and with thongs
 and nails they fixed the boards in     
place1 and made a rope ladder such as   
sailors make1 that they could pull up   
after them so no one could reach them4  
,when the kind old ,emperor came to the 
villa they showed him what they had     
done4 ,he said he would not try to climb
 up now as he had a touch of rheumatism4
 ,but a light was fixed in the upper    
lookout1 drawn up by a cord1 so they    
could signal to the ,emperor down at the
 palace4  ,then ,antoninus taught       
,marcus to ride horseback and pick up a 
spear off the ground1 with his horse at 
a gallop4 ,this was great sport for the 
,consul and the ,emperor1 who looked on1
 but they did not try it then1 but said 
they would later on when they were      
feeling just right4  ,and beside all    
this ,aurelius ,antoninus taught ,marcus
 to read from ,epictetus1 and told him  
how this hunchback slave1 ,epictetus1   
who was owned by a man who had been a   
slave himself1 was one of the sweetest1 

gentlest souls who had ever lived4      
,together they read the ,stoic-slave    
philosopher and made notes from him4    
,and so impressed was ,marcus that1 boy 
though he was1 he adopted the simple    
robe of the ,stoics1 slept on a plank1  
and made his life and language plain1   
truthful and direct4  ,this was all     
rather amusing to those near him--to all
 except ,antoninus and the boy's mother4
 ,the others said1 ,leave him alone and 
he'll get over it4  ,faustina was still 
fond of admiration--the simple1 studious
 ways of her husband were not to her    
liking4 ,he was twenty years her senior1
 and she demanded gaiety as her right4  
,her delight was to tread the borderline
 of folly1 and see how close she could  
come to the brink and not step off4     
,julius ,caesar's wife was put away on  
suspicion1 but ,faustina was worse than 
that6 ,she would go down to the city to 
masquerades1 leaving her little girl at 
home1 and be gone for three days4  ,when
 she returned ,aurelius ,antoninus spoke

 no word of anger or reproof4 ,her      
father said to her1 ,beware6 your       
husband's patience has a limit4 ,if he  
divorces you1 ,i shall not blame him2   
and even if he should kill you1 ,roman  
law will not punish him6  ,but long     
years after1 ,marcus1 in looking back on
 those days1 wrote3 ,his patience knew  
no limit2 he treated her as a perverse  
child1 and he once said to me3 ',i pity 
and love her4 ,i will not put her       
away--this were selfish4 ,how can her   
follies injure me8 ,we are what we are1 
and no one can harm us but ourselves4   
,the mistakes of those near us afford us
 an opportunity for self-control--we    
will not imitate their errors1 but      
rather strive to avoid them4 ,in this   
way what might be a great humiliation   
has its benefits4'  ,let no one imagine1
 however1 that the tolerance of         
,antoninus was the soft acquiescence of 
weakness4 ,after his death ,marcus      
wrote3 ,whatsoever excellent thing he   
had planned to do1 he carried out with a

 persistency that nothing could divert4 
,if he punished men1 it was by allowing 
them to be led by their own folly--his  
foresight1 wisdom and calm deliberation 
were beyond those of any man ,i ever    
knew4  ,the studious1 direct and manly  
ways of ,marcus were not cast aside when
 he put on the toga virilis1 as         
,faustina had predicted4 ,in spite of   
the difference in their ages1 ,antoninus
 and ,marcus mutually sustained each    
other4  ,little ,faustina was much more 
like her father than her mother1 and    
very early showed her preference for her
 father's society4 ,marcus was her      
playmate and taught her to ride a pony  
astride1 just as her father had taught  
him4 ,the three would often ride over to
 the village of ,lorium1 twelve miles   
from ,rome1 where ,antoninus had a      
summer villa4 ,at ,lanuvium1 near at    
hand1 the ,emperor spent a part of his  
time1 and he would occasionally join the
 party and listen to ,marcus recite from
 ,cicero and ,caesar4  ,when ,marcus was

 sixteen1 ,hadrian appointed him prefect
 of festivities in ,rome1 to take the   
place of the regular officer1 a man of  
years1 who was out of the city4 ,so well
 did ,marcus fill the place and make up 
his report1 that when they again met1   
the old ,emperor kissed his cheek1      
calling him1 ,my brave ,verissimus1 and 
said1 ,if ,i had a son1 ,i would want   
him just like you4  ,not long after this
 the ,emperor was taken violently ill4  
,he called his counselors about his     
bedside and directed that ,aurelius     
,antoninus should be his successor1 and 
that1 further1 ,antoninus should adopt  
,marcus ,verus1 so that ,marcus should  
succeed ,aurelius ,antoninus4  ,hadrian 
loved ,marcus for his own sake1 and he  
loved him1 too1 for the sake of the     
grandfather1 his old soldier comrade1   
,annius ,verus2 and beside that he was  
intent on preserving the ,spanish       
strain4  ,in a short time ,hadrian      
passed away1 and ,aurelius ,antoninus   
was crowned ,emperor of ,rome1 and      

,marcus ,verus1 aged seventeen1 slim1   
slender and studious1 took the name1    
,marcus ,aurelius4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,the new reign did
 not begin under very favorable         
auspices4 ,there was a prejudice against
 the ,spanish blood1 and ,hadrian had   
alienated some of the aristocrats by    
measures they considered too democratic4
  ,aurelius ,antoninus knew of these    
prejudices toward his predecessor and he
 boldly met them by carrying the ashes  
of ,hadrian to the ,senate1 demanding   
that the dead ,emperor should be        
enrolled among the gods4 ,so earnest and
 convincing was his eulogy of the great 
man gone1 that a vote was taken and the 
resolution passed without a dissenting  
voice4 ,this gives us a slight clew to  
the genesis of the gods1 and also       
reveals to us the character of          
,antoninus4 ,he so impressed the ,senate
 that this honorable body thought best  
to waive all matters of difference1 and 
in pretty compliment they voted to      

bestow on the new ,emperor the degree of
 ,pius4 ,antoninus ,pius was a man born 
to rule--in little things1 lenient1 but 
firm at the right time4 ,faustina still 
had her little social dissipations1 but 
as she was not allowed to mix in affairs
 of ,state1 her pink person was not a   
political factor4  ,marcus ,aurelius was
 only seventeen years old3 his close    
studies had robbed him of a bit of the  
robust health a youth should have4 ,but 
horseback-riding and daily outdoor games
 finally got him back into good         
condition4 ,he was the secretary and    
companion of the ,emperor wherever he   
went4  ,great responsibilities          
confronted these two strong men4 ,in    
point of intellect and aspiration they  
were far beyond the people they         
governed--so far1 indeed1 that they were
 almost isolated4 ,there was a multitude
 of slaves and consequently there was a 
feeling everywhere that useful work was 
degrading4 ,the tendency of the         
slave-owner is always toward profligacy 

and conspicuous waste4 ,to do away with 
slavery was out of the question--that   
was a matter of time and education--the 
ruler can never afford to get much in   
advance of his people4 ,the court was   
infected with parasites in the way of   
informers and busybodies who knew no way
 to thrive except through intrigue4     
,superstitions were taught by           
hypocritical priests in order to make   
the people pay tithes2 and attached to  
the state religion were soothsayers1    
fortune-tellers1 astrologers1 gamblers  
and many pretenders who waxed fat by    
ministering to ignorance and depravity4 
,these were the cheerful parasites      
mentioned as money-changers a hundred   
years before1 that infested the entrance
 to every temple4  ,many long           
consultations did the ,emperor and his  
adopted son have concerning the best    
policy to pursue4 ,they could have      
issued an edict and swept the wrongs out
 of existence1 but they knew that folly 
sprouts from a disordered brain1 and so 

they did not treat a symptom3 the       
disease was ignorance1 the symptom1     
superstition4 ,for themselves they kept 
an esoteric doctrine1 and for the many  
they did what they could4  ,twenty-three
 years of probation lay before ,marcus  
,aurelius--years of study1 work1 and    
patient endeavor4 ,he shared in all the 
honors of the ,emperor and bore his part
 of the burden as well4 ,never did he   
thirst for more power--the              
responsibilities of the situation       
saddened him--there was so much to be   
done and he could do so little4 ,well   
does ,dean ,farrar call him a seeker    
after ,god4  ,the office of young       
,marcus ,aurelius at first was that of  
,questor1 which literally means a       
messenger1 but the word with the ,romans
 meant more--an emissary or an          
ambassador4 ,when ,marcus was eighteen  
he read to the ,senate all speeches and 
messages from the ,emperor2 and in a few
 years more he wrote the messages as    
well as delivered them4 ,and all the    

time his education was being carried    
along by competent instructors4  ,one of
 these teachers1 ,fronto1 has come down 
to us1 his portrait well etched on      
history's tablets1 because he saved all 
the letters written him by ,marcus      
,aurelius2 and his grandchildren        
published them in order to show the     
excellence of true scientific teaching4 
,that old ,fronto was a dear old dear1  
these letters do fully attest4 ,when    
,marcus went away on a little journey1  
even to ,lorium1 he wrote a letter to   
,fronto telling about the trip--the     
sheep by the wayside1 the dogs that     
herded them1 the shower they saw coming 
across the ,campagna1 and incidentally a
 little freshman philosophy mixed in1   
for ,fronto had cautioned his pupil     
always to write out a great thought when
 it came1 for fear he would never have  
another4 ,marcus was a sprightly        
letter-writer1 and must have been a     
quick observer1 and ,fronto's gentle    
claims that he made the man are worthy  

of consideration4 ,as a literary        
exercise the daily theme1 prompted by   
love1 can never be improved upon4 ,the  
way to learn to write is to write4 ,and 
,pronto1 who resorted to many little    
tricks in order to get his pupil to     
express himself1 was a teacher whose    
name should be written high4 ,the       
correspondence-school has many          
advantages--,fronto purposely sent his  
pupil away or absented himself1 that the
 carefully formulated or written thought
 might take the place of the free and   
easy conversation4 ,in one letter       
,marcus ends3 ,the day was perfect but  
for one thing--you were not here4 ,but  
then if you were here1 ,i would not now 
have the pleasure of writing to you1 so 
thus is your philosophy proved3 that all
 good is equalized1 and love grows      
through separation6 ,this sounds a bit  
preachy1 but is valuable1 as it reveals 
the man to whom it is written3 the      
person to whom we write dictates the    
message4  ,fronto's habit of giving a   

problem to work out was quite as good a 
teaching plan as anything we have to    
offer now4 ,thus3 ,an ambassador of     
,rome visiting an outlying province     
attended a gladiatorial contest4 ,and   
one of the fighters being indisposed1   
the ambassador replied to a taunt by    
putting on a coat of mail and going into
 the ring to kill the lion4 ,question1  
was this action commendable8 ,if so1    
why1 and if not1 why not8  ,the         
proposition was one that would appeal at
 once to a young man1 and thus did      
,fronto lead his pupils to think and    
express4  ,another teacher that ,marcus 
had was ,rusticus1 a blunt old farmer   
turned pedagog1 who has added a word to 
our language4 ,his pupils were called   
,rusticana1 and later plain rustics4    
,that ,rusticus developed in ,marcus a  
deal of plain1 sturdy commonsense there 
is no doubt4 ,rusticus had a way of     
stripping a subject of its gloss and    
verbiage--going straight to the vital   
point of every issue4 ,for the wisdom of

 ,marcus' legal opinions ,rusticus      
deserves more than passing credit4  ,for
 the youth who was destined to be the   
next ,emperor of ,rome1 there was no    
dearth of society if he chose to accept 
it4 ,managing mammas were on every      
corner1 and kind kinsmen consented to   
arrange matters with this heiress or    
that4 ,for the frivolities of society   
,marcus had no use--his hours were      
filled with useful work or application  
to his books4 ,his father and ,fronto we
 find were both constantly urging him to
 get out more in the sunshine and meet  
more people1 and not bother too much    
about the books4  ,how best to curtail  
over-application1 ,i am told1 is a      
problem that seldom faces a teacher4    
,as for society as a matrimonial bazaar1
 ,marcus ,aurelius could not see that it
 had its use4 ,he was afraid of         
it--afraid of himself1 perhaps4 ,he     
loved the little ,faustina4 ,they had   
been comrades together1 and played keep 
house under the olive-trees at ,lorium2 

and had ridden their ponies over the    
hills4 ,once ,marcus and ,faustina1 on a
 ride across the country1 bought a lamb 
out of the arms of a shepherd1 and kept 
it until it grew great curling horns1   
and made visitors scale the wall or     
climb trees4 ,then three priests led it 
away to sacrifice1 and ,marcus and      
,faustina fell into each other's arms   
and rained tears down each other's      
backs1 and refused to be comforted4     
,what if their father was an ,emperor1  
and ,marcus would be some day6 ,it would
 not bring back ,beppo1 with his        
innocent lamblike ways1 and make him get
 down on his knees and wag his tail when
 they fed him out of a pail6 ,beppo     
always got on his knees to eat1 and     
showed his love and humility before he  
grew his horns and reached the age of   
indiscretion2 then he became awfully    
wicked1 and it took three stout priests 
to lead him away and sacrifice him to   
the gods for his own good6  ,but        
gradually the grass grew on ,beppo's    

make-believe grave in the garden1 and   
,fronto's problems filled the vacuum in 
their hearts4 ,fronto gave his lessons  
to ,marcus1 and ,marcus gave them to    
,faustina--thus do we keep things by    
giving them away4  ,but problems greater
 than pet sheep grown ribald and        
reckless were to confront ,marcus and   
,faustina4 ,they had both been betrothed
 to others1 years before1 and this they 
now resented4 ,they talked of this much1
 and then suddenly ceased to talk of it1
 and each evaded mentioning it1 and     
pretended they never thought of it4     
,then they explosively began            
again--began as suddenly to talk of it1 
and always when they met they mentioned 
it4 ,folks called them brother and      
sister--they were not brother and       
sister1 only cousins4  ,finally the     
matter was brought to ,antoninus1 and he
 pretended that he had never thought    
about it2 but in fact he had thought of 
little else for a long time4 ,and       
,antoninus said that if they loved each 

other very much1 and he was sure they   
did1 why1 it was the will of the gods   
that they should marry1 and he never    
interfered with the will of the gods2 so
 he kissed them both and cried a few    
foolish tears1 a thing an ,emperor      
should never do4  ,so they were married 
at the country seat at ,lorium1 out     
under the orange-trees as was often the 
custom1 for orange-trees are green the  
year 'round1 and bear fruit and flowers 
at the same time1 and the flowers are   
very sweet1 and the fruit is both       
beautiful and useful--and these things  
symbol constancy and fruitfulness and   
good luck1 and that is why we yet have  
orange-blossoms at weddings and play the
 ,lohengrin ,march1 which is            
orange-trees expressed in sweet sounds4 
,marcus was only twenty1 and ,faustina  
could not have been over sixteen--we do 
not know her exact age4 ,there are      
stories to the effect that the wife of  
,marcus ,aurelius severely tried her    
husband's temper at times1 but these    

tales seem to have arisen through a     
confusion of the two ,faustinas4 ,the   
elder ,faustina was the one who set the 
merry pace in frivolity1 and once said  
that any woman with a husband twenty    
years her senior must be allowed a lover
 or two--goodness gracious6  ,as far as 
we know1 the younger ,faustina was a    
most loyal and loving wife1 the mother  
of a full dozen children4 ,coins issued 
by ,marcus ,aurelius stamped with the   
features of his wife1 and the           
inscription ,concordia1 ,faustina and   
,venus ,felix1 attest the felicity1 or  
felixity1 of the marriage4  ,their      
oldest boy1 ,commodus1 was very much    
like his grandmother1 ,faustina1 and a  
man who knows all about the ,law of     
,heredity tells me that children are    
much more apt to resemble their         
grandparents than their father and      
mother4  ,i believe ,i once said that no
 house is big enough for two families1  
but this truth is like the ,greek       
verb--it has many exceptions4 ,in the   

same house with ,emperor ,antoninus     
,pius dwelt ,lucilla1 mother of ,marcus1
 and ,marcus and his wife4 ,and they    
were all very happy--but life was rather
 more peaceful after the death of       
,faustina1 the elder1 which occurred a  
few years after her husband became      
,emperor4  ,she could not endure        
prosperity4  ,but her husband mourned   
her death and made a public speech in   
eulogy of her1 determined that only the 
best should be remembered of one who had
 been the wife of an ,emperor and the   
mother of his children4 ,as far as we   
know1 ,antoninus never spoke a word     
concerning his wife except in praise1   
not even when she left his house to be  
gone for months4  ,it was ,ouida1 she of
 the aqua-fortis ink1 who said1 ,a woman
 married to a man as good as ,antoninus 
must have been very miserable1 for while
 men who are thoroughly bad are not     
lovable1 yet a man who is not           
occasionally bad is unendurable4 ,and so
 ,ouida's heart went out in sympathy and

 condolence to the two ,faustinas1 who  
wedded the only two men mentioned in    
,roman history who were infinitely wise 
and good4  ,in one of his essays1       
,richard ,steele writes this1 ,no woman 
ever loved a man through life with a    
mighty love if the man did not          
occasionally abuse her4 ,i give the     
remark for what it is worth4 ,however1  
,montesquieu somewhere says that the    
chief objection to heaven is its        
monotony2 so possibly there may be      
something in the ,ouida-,steele         
philosophy--but of this ,i really can't 
say1 knowing nothing about the subject1 
myself4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,happy is the man who has  
no history4 ,the reign of ,antoninus    
,pius was peaceful and prosperous4 ,no  
great wars nor revulsions occurred1 and 
the times made for education and        
excellence4 ,antoninus worked to        
conserve the good1 and that he          
succeeded1 ,gibbon says1 there is no    
doubt4 ,he left the country in better   

condition than he found it1 and he could
 have truthfully repeated the words of  
,pericles1 ,i have made no person wear  
crape4  ,but there came a day when      
,antoninus was stricken by the hand of  
death4 ,the captain of the guard came to
 him and asked for the password for the 
night4 ,equanimity1 replied the         
,emperor1 and turning on his side1 sank 
into sleep1 to awake no more4 ,his last 
word symbols the guiding impulse of his 
life4 ,well does ,renan say3 ,simple1   
loving1 full of sweet gaiety1 ,antoninus
 was a philosopher without saying so1   
almost without knowing it4 ,marcus was a
 philosopher1 but often consciously1 and
 he became a philosopher by study and   
reflection1 aided and encouraged by the 
older man4 ,you can not consider the one
 man and leave the other out1 and the   
early contention that ,antoninus was1 in
 fact1 the father of ,marcus has at     
least a poetic and spiritual basis in   
truth4  ,there was much in ,renan's     
suggestions4 ,the greatest man is he who

 works his philosophy up into life--this
 is better than to talk about it4 ,we   
only discuss that to which we have not  
attained1 and the virtues we talk most  
of are those beyond us4 ,the ideal      
outstrips the actual4 ,but it is no     
discredit that a man pictures more than 
he realizes--such a one is preparing the
 way for others4 ,marcus ,antoninus has 
been a guiding star--an inspiration--to 
untold millions4  ,marcus ,aurelius was 
forty years old when he became ,emperor 
of ,rome4 ,at the age of forty a man is 
safe1 if ever3 character is formed1 and 
what he will do or become1 can be safely
 presaged4  ,more than once ,rome has   
repudiated the man in the direct line of
 accession to the throne1 and before    
,marcus ,aurelius took the reins of     
government he asked the ,senate to      
ratify the people's choice1 and thus    
make it the choice of the gods1 and this
 was done4  ,as ,emperor1 we find       
,marcus endeavored to carry out the     
policy of his predecessor4 ,he did not  

favor expansion1 but hoped by peace and 
propitiation to cement the empire and   
thus work for education1 harmony and    
prosperity4  ,it is interesting to see  
how ,marcus ,aurelius in the year ,one  
,hundred ,sixty-four was cudgeling his  
brains concerning problems about which  
we yet argue and grow red in the face4  
,the ,emperor was also ,chief ,justice1 
and questions were being constantly     
brought to him to decide4 ,from him     
there was no appeal1 and his decisions  
made the law upon which all lesser      
judges based their rulings4 ,and        
curiously enough we are dealing most    
extensively in judge-made law even      
today4  ,one vexed question that        
confronted ,marcus was the lessening    
number of marriages1 with a consequent  
increase in illegitimate births and a   
gradual dwindling of the free           
population4 ,he seems to have disliked  
this word illegitimate1 for he says1    
,all children are beautiful             
blessings--sent by the gods4 ,but people

 who were legally married objected to   
this view1 and said to recognize        
children born out of wedlock as entitled
 to all the privileges of citizenship is
 virtually to do away with legal        
marriage4 ,as a compromise1 ,marcus     
decided to recognize all people as      
married who said they were married4     
,this is exactly our common-law marriage
 as it exists in various ,states today4 
,however1 a man could put away his wife 
at will1 and by recording the fact with 
the nearest pretor1 the act was         
legalized4 ,it will thus be seen that if
 a man could marry at will and put away 
his wife at will1 there was really no   
marriage beyond that of nature4 ,to meet
 the issue1 and prevent fickle and      
unjust men from taking advantage of     
women1 ,marcus decided that the pretor  
could refuse to record the desired      
divorce1 if he saw fit1 and demand      
reasons4 ,we then for the first time get
 a divorce trial1 and on appeal to      
,marcus1 he decided that if the man were

 in the wrong1 he must still support the
 injured wife4  ,then1 for the first    
time1 we find women asking for a        
divorce4 ,now1 nearly three-fourths of  
all divorces are granted to women2 but  
at first1 that a woman should want      
marital freedom caused a howl of        
merriment4 ,marcus was the first ,roman 
,emperor to allow women the right of    
petition1 and the privilege1 too1 of    
practising law1 for ,capitolanus cites  
various instances of women coming to ask
 for justice1 and women friends coming  
with them to help plead their case1 and 
the ,emperor of ,rome1 leaning his tired
 head on his arm1 listening for hours   
with great patience4 ,we also hear of   
petitions for damages being presented   
for failure to keep a promise to        
marry--the action being brought against 
the girl's father4 ,this would be       
thought a trifle strange1 but an action 
against a woman for breach of promise is
 quite in order yet4  ,recently the     
,honorable ,henry ,ballard of ,vermont  

won heavy damages against a coy and     
dallying heiress who had played pitch   
and toss with a good man's heart4 ,the  
case was carried to the ,united ,states 
,supreme ,court and judgment sustained4 
,the question of marriage and divorce   
now in the ,united ,states is almost    
precisely where it was in ,rome in the  
time of ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,no two      
,states have the same marriage-laws1 and
 marriages which are illegal in one     
,state may be made legal in another4    
,yet with us1 any court of jurisdiction 
may declare any marriage illegal1 or set
 any divorce aside4 ,what makes marriage
 and what constitutes divorce are       
matters of opinion in the mind of the   
judge4 ,we have gone a bit further than 
,marcus1 though1 in that we allow       
couples to marry if they wish1 yet      
divorce is denied if both parties desire
 it4 ,the fact that they want it is     
construed as proof that they should not 
have it4 ,we meet the issue1 however1 by
 connivance of the lawyers1 who are     

officers of the court1 and a legal      
fiction is inaugurated by allowing a    
little bird to tell the judge what      
decision will be satisfactory to both   
sides4 ,and in ,states or countries     
where no divorce is allowed1 marriage   
can be annulled if you know how--see    
,ruskin versus ,ruskin1 ,coleridge1 ,j4 
,our zealous ,new ,thought friends1 who 
clamor to have marriage made difficult  
and divorce easy1 forget that the whole 
question has been threshed over for     
three thousand years1 and all schemes   
tried4 ,the ,romans issued              
marriage-licenses1 but before doing so a
 pretor passed on the fitness of the    
candidates for each other4 ,this was so 
embarrassing to many coy couples that   
they just waived formal proceedings and 
set up housekeeping4 ,to declare these  
people lawbreakers1 ,marcus ,aurelius   
said1 would put half of ,rome in limbo1 
just as1 if we should technically       
enforce all laws1 it would send most    
members of the ,legislature to the      

penitentiary4 ,so the ,emperor declared 
de-facto marriage de jure1 and for a    
short time succeeded in striking out the
 word illegitimate as applied to a      
person1 on the ground that1 in justice1 
no act of a parent could be charged up  
against and punished in the offspring4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,men who make laws have forever to watch
 most closely and dance attendance on   
,nature4 ,laws which fly in the face of 
,nature are gently waived or            
conveniently forgotten4 ,should ,chief  
,justice ,fuller issue an injunction    
restraining all men from coming within a
 quarter of a mile of a woman1 on       
penalty of death1 we would all place    
ourselves in contempt in an hour2 and   
should the army try to enforce the      
order1 we would smother ,justice ,fuller
 in his wool-sack and hang his effigy on
 a sour-apple tree4 ,law isn't worth the
 paper it is written on unless it       
embodies the will and natural tendencies
 of the governed4 ,where poaching is    

popular1 no law can stop it4 ,marriage  
is easy1 and divorce difficult1 because 
this is ,nature's plan4 ,the natural law
 of attraction brings men and women     
together1 and it is difficult to        
separate them4 ,natural things are easy1
 and artificial ones difficult4 ,most   
couples who desire freedom only think   
they do3 what they really want is a     
vacation2 but they would not separate   
for good if they could4 ,it is hard to  
part--people who have lived together    
grow to need each other4 ,they want some
 one to quarrel with4  ,caesar          
,augustus1 in his close study of        
character1 introduced a limited divorce4
 ,that is1 in case of a family quarrel1 
he ordered the couple to live apart for 
six months as a penalty4 ,quintilian    
says that usually before the expired    
time the man and woman were             
surreptitiously living together again1  
at which the court quietly winked1 and  
finally this form of penalty had to be  
abandoned because it made the courts    

ridiculous4  ,men and women do not get  
married because marriage is legal1 nor  
do they continue living together because
 divorce is difficult4 ,they marry      
because they desire to1 and they do not 
separate because they do not want to4   
,the task that confronts the legislator 
is to find out what the people want to  
do1 and then legalize it4  ,in ,rome1   
the custom of the parties divorcing     
themselves was prevalent1 and the courts
 were called upon to ratify the act1    
just to give the matter respectability4 
,below a certain stratum in society1 the
 formality of legal marriage and divorce
 was waived entirely1 just as it is     
largely1 now1 among our colored         
population in the ,south4 ,during the   
,french ,revolution1 the same custom    
largely obtained in ,france4 ,and about 
the year ,one ,hundred ,fifty in ,rome  
there was danger that the people would  
overlook the majesty of the law entirely
 in their domestic affairs4 ,this       
condition is what prompted ,marcus      

,aurelius to recognize as legal the     
common-law marriage and say if a couple 
called themselves husband and wife1 they
 were4 ,and for a time1 if they said    
they were divorced1 they were4 ,but as a
 mortgage owned by a man on his own     
property cancels the debt1 and legally  
there is no mortgage1 so if the people  
could get married at will and divorce   
themselves at their convenience1 there  
really was no legal marriage4 ,thus the 
matter was argued4 ,so ,marcus adopted  
the plan of making marriage easy and    
divorce difficult1 and this has been the
 policy in all civilized countries ever 
since4  ,it is very evident1 however1   
that ,marcus ,aurelius looked forward to
 a time when men and women would be wise
 enough1 and just enough1 to arrange    
their own affairs1 without calling on   
the police to ratify either their       
friendships or their misunderstandings4 
,he says3 ,love is beautiful1 and that a
 man and a woman loving each other      
should live together is the will of     

,god1 but if there comes a time when    
they can not live in peace1 let them    
part4 ,to have no relationship is not a 
disgrace2 to have wrong relations is1   
for disgrace means lack of grace1       
discord1 and love is harmony4  ,marcus  
,aurelius tried the plan of probationary
 marriages2 and to offset this he also  
introduced the ,augustinian plan of     
probationary divorces--that is1 the     
interlocutory decree4 ,this scheme has  
recently been adopted in several ,states
 in ,america with the avowed intent of  
preventing fraud in divorce procedure1  
but actually the logic of the situation 
is the same now as in the time of       
,marcus ,aurelius--it postpones the     
final decree so as to prevent the couple
 from becoming the victims of their own 
rashness1 and to give them an           
opportunity to become reconciled if     
possible4  ,so anxious was ,marcus      
,aurelius to decide justly with his     
people that he found himself swamped    
with cases of every sort and            

description4 ,he tried to pass upon each
 case by its merits1 regardless of law  
and precedent4 ,then other judges       
construed his decisions as law1 and the 
lesser courts cited the upper ones1     
until ,gibbon says1 ,there grew up such 
a mass of judge-made laws that a skilful
 lawyer could prove anything1 and legal 
practise swung on the ability to cite   
similar cases and call attention to     
desired decisions4  ,in ,america we are 
now back exactly to the same condition4 
,a lawyer in ,new ,york ,state requires 
over fourteen thousand law-books if he  
would cover all the ground2 and his     
business is to make it easy for the     
judge to dispense justice and not       
dispense with law4 ,that is to say1     
before a judge can decide a case1 he    
must be able to back up his opinion by  
precedent4 ,judges are not elected to   
deal out justice between man and man2   
they are elected to decide on points of 
law4 ,law is often a great disadvantage 
to a judge--it may hamper justice--and  

in ,america there must surely soon come 
a day when we will make a bonfire of    
every law-book in the land1 and electing
 our judges for life1 we will make the  
judiciary free4 ,we will then require   
our lawyers and judges to read1 and pass
 examinations on ,browning's ,ring and  
the ,book1 and none other4 ,and if we   
would follow the ,aurelian suggestion of
 remitting all direct taxes to every    
citizen who had not been plaintiff in a 
lawsuit for ten years1 we would         
gradually get something approaching pure
 justice4 ,the people must be educated  
to decide quietly and calmly their own  
disputes1 and this can be done only by  
placing an obvious penalty on           
litigation4 ,progress in the future will
 consist in having less law1 and        
fulfilment will be reached when we have 
no law at all--each man governing       
himself1 and being willing that his     
neighbor shall do the same4 ,trouble    
arises largely from each man regarding  
himself as his brother's keeper1 and    

ceasing to be his friend4 ,marcus       
,aurelius1 the wise judge1 saw that most
 litigation is foolish and absurd--both 
parties are at fault1 and both right4   
,and to bring about the good time when  
men shall live in peace1 he began       
earnestly to govern himself4 ,his ideal 
was a state where men would need no     
governing4 ,hence his ,meditations1 a   
book which ,dean ,farrar says is not    
inferior to the ,new ,testament in its  
lofty aim and purity of conception4     
,every great book is an evolution3      
,marcus had been getting ready to write 
this immortal volume for nearly half a  
century4 ,and now in his fifty-seventh  
year he found himself in the desert of  
,asia at the head of the army1          
endeavoring to put down an insurrection 
of various barbaric tribes4 ,later1 the 
seat of war was shifted to the north4   
,the enemy struck and retreated1 and    
danced around him as the ,boers fought  
the ,english in ,south ,africa4  ,but   
,marcus ,aurelius had time to think1 and

 so with no books near and all memoranda
 far away1 he began to write out his    
best thoughts4 ,at first he expressed   
just for his own satisfaction1 but      
later1 as the work progressed1 we see   
that its value grew upon him1 and it was
 his intention to put it in systematic  
form for posterity4 ,and while working  
at this task1 the exposures of field and
 camp1 and the business of war1 in which
 he had no heart1 worked upon him so    
adversely that he sickened and died1    
aged fifty-nine4  ,his body was carried 
back to ,rome and placed by the side of 
that of his beloved adopted father1     
,antoninus ,pius4 ,and so he sleeps1 but
 the precious legacy of the             
,meditations1 written during those last 
two years of travel1 turmoil and strife1
 is ours4  ,a few quotations seem in    
order3       ,remember1 on every        
occasion which leads thee to vexation1  
to apply      this principle3 not that  
this is a misfortune1 but that to bear  
it      nobly is good fortune4          

,things do not touch the soul1 for they 
are eternal1 and remain      immovable2 
but our perturbations come only from the
 opinion which      is within4444 ,the  
,universe is transformation2 life is    
opinion4       ,to the jaundiced1 honey 
tastes bitter2 and to those bitten by   
mad      dogs1 water causes fear2 and to
 little children1 the ball is a fine    
thing4 ,why then am ,i angry8 ,dost thou
 think that a false opinion      has    
less power than the bile in the         
jaundiced1 or the poison in him      who
 is bitten by a mad dog8       ,how easy
 it is to repel and to wipe away every  
impression which is      troublesome and
 unsuitable1 and immediately to be in   
all      tranquillity6       ,all things
 come from the universal ,ruling ,power1
 either directly or      by way of      
consequence4 ,and accordingly the lion's
 gaping jaws1 and      that which is    
poisonous1 and every hurtful thing1 as a
 thorn1 as      mud1 are after-products 
of the grand and beautiful4 ,do not     

therefore imagine that they are of      
another kind from that which      thou  
dost venerate1 but form a just opinion  
of the source of all4       ,pass       
through the rest of life like one who   
has entrusted to the      gods1 with his
 whole soul1 all that he has1 making    
himself neither      the tyrant nor the 
slave of any man4       ,never value    
anything as profitable to thyself which 
shall compel      thee to break thy     
promise1 to lose thy self-respect1 to   
hate any      man1 to suspect1 to curse1
 to act the hypocrite1 to desire        
anything      which needs walls and     
curtains4       ,i am thankful to the   
gods that ,i was subjected to a ruler   
and a      father who was able to take  
away all pride from me1 and to bring me 
to the knowledge that it is possible for
 a man to live in a palace      without 
wanting either guards or embroidered    
dresses1 or torches      and statues1   
and such-like show2 but that it is in   
such a man's      power to bring himself

 very near to the fashion of a private  
person1 without being1 for this reason1 
either meaner in thought or      more   
remiss in action1 with respect to the   
things which must be      done for the  
public interest in a manner that befits 
a ruler4       ,what more dost thou want
 when thou hast done a man a service8   
,art      thou not content that thou    
hast done something conformable to thy  
nature1 and dost thou seek to be paid   
for it8 ,just as if the eye             
demanded a recompense for seeing1 or the
 feet for walking4 ,as a      horse when
 he has run1 a dog when he has traced   
the game1 a bee      when it has made   
the honey1 so a man1 when he has done a 
good act1      does not call out for    
others to come and see1 but goes on to  
another act1 as a vine goes on to       
produce again the grapes in      season4
       ,accustom thyself to attend      
carefully to what is said by another1   
and as much as it is possible1 be in the
 speaker's mind4       ,some things are 

hurrying into existence1 and others are 
hurrying      out of it2 and of that    
which is coming into existence1 part is 
already extinguished4 ,motions and      
changes are continually renewing        
the world1 just as the uninterrupted    
course of time is always      renewing  
the infinite duration of ages4          
,understand that every man is worth just
 so much as the things are      worth   
about which he busies himself4          
,wickedness does no harm at all to the  
universe--it is only harmful      to him
 who has it in his power to be released 
from it4       ,nothing is more wretched
 than a man who traverses everything in 
a      round1 and pries into the things 
beneath the earth1 as the poet          
says1 and seeks by conjecture what is in
 the minds of his      neighbors1       
without perceiving that it is sufficient
 to attend to      the deity within him1
 and to reverence it sincerely4         
,the prayers of ,marcus ,aurelius to the
 gods are for one thing      only--that 

their will be done4 ,all else is vain1  
all else is      rebellion against the  
universe itself4 ,our form of worship   
should      be like this3 ,everything   
harmonizes with me which is harmonious  
to      thee1 ,o ,universe4 ,nothing for
 me is too early nor too late1 which    
is in due time for thee4 ,everything is 
fruit to me which thy      seasons      
bring1 ,o ,nature3 from thee are all    
things1 in thee are all      things1 to 
thee all things return4       ,in the   
morning when thou risest unwillingly1   
let this thought be      present--,i am 
rising to the work of a human being4    
,why1 then1 am ,i      dissatisfied if  
,i am going to do the things for which  
,i exist1 and      for which ,i was     
brought into the world8 ,or have ,i been
 made for      this1 to lie in the      
bedclothes and keep myself warm8 ,but   
this is      more pleasant4 ,dost thou  
exist1 then1 to take thy pleasure1 and  
not      for action or exertion8 ,dost  
thou not see the little plants1 the     

little birds1 the ants1 the spiders1 the
 bees1 working together to      put in  
order their several parts of the        
universe8 ,and art thou      unwilling  
to do the work of a human being1 and    
dost thou not make      haste to do that
 which is according to thy nature8      
,judge every word and deed which are    
according to ,nature to be fit      for 
thee1 and be not diverted by the blame  
which follows4444 ,but if      a thing  
is good to be done or said1 do not      
consider it unworthy of      thee4      
,since it is possible that thou mayest  
depart from life this very      moment1 
regulate every act and thought          
accordingly4444 ,death      certainly1  
and life1 honor and dishonor1 pain and  
pleasure1 all      these things equally 
happen to good men and bad1 being things
 which      make us neither better nor  
worse4 ,therefore they are neither good 
nor evil4       ,to say all in a word1  
everything which belongs to the body is 
a      stream1 and what belongs to the  

soul is a dream and vapor2 and life     
is a warfare1 and a stranger's sojourn1 
and after fame is oblivion4      ,what1 
then1 is that which is able to enrich a 
man8 ,one thing1 and      only          
one--philosophy4 ,but this consists in  
keeping the guardian      spirit within 
a man free from violence and unharmed1  
superior to      pains and pleasures1   
doing nothing without a purpose1 nor yet
      falsely1 and with hypocrisy 444   
accepting all that happens and all      
that is allotted 444 and finally waiting
 for death with a cheerful      mind4   
,if thou findest in human life anything 
better than justice1 truth1             
temperance1 fortitude1 and1 in a word1  
than thine own soul's      satisfaction 
in the things which it enables thee to  
do according to      right reason1 and  
in the condition that is assigned to    
thee without      thy own choice2 if1 ,i
 say1 thou seest anything better than   
this1      turn to it with all thy soul1
 and enjoy that which thou hast found   

to be the best4 ,but 444 if thou findest
 everything else smaller and      of    
less value than this1 give place to     
nothing else4444 ,simply and      freely
 choose the better1 and hold to it4     
,men seek retreats for themselves1      
houses in the country1 seashores1       
and mountains2 and thou too art wont to 
desire such things very      much4 ,but 
this is altogether a mark of the most   
common sort of men1      for it is in   
thy power whenever thou shalt choose to 
retire into      thyself4 ,for nowhere  
either with more quiet or more freedom  
from      trouble does a man retire than
 into his own soul1 particularly when   
he has within him such thoughts that by 
looking into them he is      immediately
 in perfect tranquillity--which is      
nothing else than the      good ordering
 of the mind4       ,unhappy am ,i1     
because this has happened to me8 ,not   
so1 but happy am      ,i though this has
 happened to me1 because ,i continue    
free from      pain2 neither crushed by 

the present nor fearing the future4     
,be cheerful1 and seek no external help1
 nor the tranquillity which      others 
give4 ,a man must stand erect1 not be   
kept erect by others4       ,be like the
 promontory against which the waves     
continually break1      but it stands   
firm and tames the fury of the water    
around it4       ,it is not fit that ,i 
should give myself pain1 for ,i have    
never      intentionally given pain even
 to another4     ,,immanuel ,,kant      
,the canons of scientific evidence      
justify us neither in accepting      nor
 rejecting the ideas upon which morality
 and religion repose4      ,both parties
 to the dispute beat the air2 they worry
 their own      shadow2 for they pass   
from ,nature into the domain of         
speculation1      where their dogmatic  
grips find nothing to lay hold upon4    
,the      shadows which they hew to     
pieces grow together in a moment like   
the      heroes in ,valhalla1 to rejoice
 again in bloodless battles4            

,metaphysics can no longer claim to be  
the cornerstone of religion      and    
morality4 ,but if she can not be the    
,atlas that bears the moral      world  
she can furnish a magic defense4 ,around
 the ideas of religion      she throws  
her bulwark of invisibility2 and the    
sword of the      skeptic and the       
battering-ram of the materialist fall   
harmless on      vacuity4               
--,immanuel ,kant  ,illustration3       
,,immanuel ,,kant   ,we find that most  
men fit easily into types4 ,you describe
 to me one ,durham cow and you picture  
all ,durham cows4 ,so it is with men3   
they belong to breeds1 which we politely
 call denominations1 sects or parties4  
,tell me the man's sect1 and ,i know his
 dress1 his habit of life1 his thought4 
,his dress is the uniform of his party1 
and his thought is that which is ordered
 and prescribed4 ,dull indeed is the    
intellect which can not correctly       
prophesy the opinions to which this man 
will arrive on any subject4  ,durham    

cows are not exactly alike1 ,i well     
know1 but a trifle more length of leg1 a
 variation in color1 or an off-angle of 
the horn1 and that cow is forever barred
 from exhibition as a ,durham4 ,she is  
fit only for beef1 and the first butcher
 that makes a bid takes her1 hide and   
horns4  ,members of sects do not think  
exactly alike1 but there are            
well-defined limits of thought and      
action1 beyond which they dare not stray
 lest the butcher bag them4 ,in joining 
a sect they have given bonds to         
uniformity1 and have signed their       
willingness to think and act like all   
other members of the sect4  ,herbert    
,spencer deals with this jiner          
propensity in man1 and describes it as a
 manifestation of the herding instinct  
in animals4 ,it is a combination for    
mutual protection--a social contract1   
each one waiving a part of his          
personality in order to secure a        
supposed benefit4 ,a herd of cattle can 
stand against a pack of wolves1 but a   

cow alone is doomed4  ,few men indeed   
can stand against the pack4 ,wise are   
the many who seek safety in numbers6    
,think of those who have stood out alone
 and expressed their individuality1 and 
you count on your fingers ,god's        
patriots dead and turned to dust4  ,the 
paradox of things is shown in that the  
entrenched many1 having found safety in 
aggregation1 pay their debt of homage to
 the bold few who lived their lives and 
paid the penalty by death4  ,across the 
disk of existence1 each decade1 there   
glide five hundred million souls1 and   
disappear forever in the dim and dusk of
 the eternity that lies behind4 ,out of 
the bare handful that are remembered1 we
 cherish only the memories of those who 
stood alone and expressed their honest1 
inmost thought4 ,and this thought is1   
always and forever1 the thought of      
liberty4 ,exile1 ostracism1 death1 have 
been their fate1 and on the smoke of    
martyr-fires their souls mounted to     
immortality4  ,future generations often 

confuse these men with ,deity1 the      
,maker of the ,worlds4 ,and thus do we  
arrive at truth by indirection1 for in  
very fact these were the ,sons of ,god1 
vitalized by ,divinity1 part and parcel 
of the ,power that guides the planets on
 their way and holds the worlds in      
space4 ,upon their tombs we carve a     
single word3 ,savior4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,kant was
 sixty years old before he was known to 
any extent beyond his native town2 but  
so fast then did his fame travel that at
 his death it was recognized that the   
greatest thinker of the world had passed
 away4 ,kant founded no school2 but     
,fichte1 ,schelling1 ,hegel1 ,herde and 
,schopenhauer were all his children--and
 all but ,schopenhauer showed their     
humanity by denouncing him1 for men are 
prone to revile that which has benefited
 them most4 ,kant marks an epoch and all
 thinkers who came after him are his    
debtors4 ,his philosophy has passed into
 the current coin of knowledge4  ,kant's

 lifelong researches revolve around four
 propositions3    #a4 ,who am ,i8   #b4 
,what am ,i8   #c4 ,what can ,i do8     
#d4 ,what can ,i know8  ,the answer to  
,number ,four is that ,i can not know   
anything4 ,that is to say1 the wise man 
is the man who knows that he does not   
know4 ,and this disposes of ,number ,one
 and ,number ,two1 leaving only ,number 
,three for our consideration4 ,it took1 
however1 a good many years and a vast   
amount of study and writing for ,kant to
 thus simplify4 ,for years he toiled    
with algebraic formulas and syllogistic 
theorems before he concluded that the   
best wisdom of life lies in             
simplification1 not complexity4  ,what  
can ,i do8 resolves itself into1 ,what  
must ,i do8 ,and the answer is3 ,you    
must do four things in order to retain  
your place as a normal being upon this  
earth3 eat1 work1 associate with your   
kind1 rest4 ,just four things we must   
do1 and outside of this everything is   
incidental1 accidental1 irrelevant and  

inconsequential4 ,then how to eat1 work1
 associate and rest wisely and best     
constitutes life4 ,every man should be  
free to work out these four equations   
for himself1 his freedom ending where   
another man's rights begin4 ,to these   
four questions we should bring our      
highest reason1 our ripest experience   
and our best endeavor4 ,as for himself  
we know that ,kant made a schedule of   
life which evolved a sickly boy into a  
reasonably strong man who banished pain1
 sorrow and regret from his existence   
and lived a long life of deep1 quiet    
satisfaction1 sane to the end1 watching 
every symptom of approaching dissolution
 with keen interest1 and at the last    
passing into quiet sleep1 his spirit    
gliding peacefully away1 perhaps to     
answer those two great questions which  
he said were unanswerable here3 ,who am 
,i8 ,what am ,i8         99       99    
99       99       99  ,immanuel ,kant   
was born in ,seventeen ,hundred         
,twenty-four at the ,city of            

,konigsberg1 in the northeastern corner 
of ,prussia4 ,there he received his     
education2 there he was a teacher for   
nearly half a century2 and there1 in his
 eightieth year1 he died4 ,he was never 
out of ,east ,prussia and never         
journeyed sixty miles from his          
birthplace during his whole life4       
,professor ,josiah ,royce of ,harvard1  
himself in the sage business1 and       
perhaps the best example that ,america  
has produced of the pure type of        
philosopher1 says1 ,kant is the only    
modern thinker who in point of          
originality is worthy to be ranked with 
,plato and ,aristotle4 ,like ,emerson1  
,kant regarded traveling as a fool's    
paradise2 only ,emerson had to travel   
much before he found it out1 while ,kant
 gained the truth by staying at home4   
,once a lady took him for a carriage    
ride1 and on learning from the footman  
that they were seven miles from home he 
was so displeased that he refused to    
utter a single orphic on the way back2  

and further1 the story is that he never 
after entered a vehicle1 and living for 
thirty years was never again so far from
 the lodging he called home4  ,in his   
lectures on physical geography ,kant    
would often describe mountains1 rivers1 
waterfalls1 volcanoes1 with great       
animation and accuracy1 yet he had never
 seen any of these4 ,once a friend      
offered to take him to ,switzerland1 so 
he could actually see the mountains2 but
 he warmly declined1 declaring that the 
man who was not satisfied until he could
 touch1 taste and see was small1 mean   
and quibbling as was ,thomas1 the       
doubting disciple4 ,moreover1 he had    
samples of the strata of the ,alps1 and 
this was enough1 which reminds us of the
 man who had a house for sale and       
offered to send a prospective purchaser 
a sample brick4  ,mind was the great    
miracle to ,kant--the ability to know   
all about a thing by seeing it with your
 inward eye4 ,the ,imagination hath a   
stage within the brain upon which all   

scenes are played1 and the play to ,kant
 was greater than the reality4 ,or1 to  
use his own words3 ,time and ,space have
 no existence apart from ,mind4 ,there  
is no such thing as ,sound unless there 
be an ear to receive the vibrations4    
,things and places1 matter and substance
 come under the same law1 and exist only
 as mind creates them4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,the     
parents of ,kant were very lowly people4
 ,his father was a day laborer--a       
leather-cutter who never achieved even  
to the honors and emoluments of a       
saddler4 ,there were seven children in  
the family1 and never a servant crossed 
the threshold4 ,one daughter survived   
,immanuel1 and in her eighty-fourth year
 she expressed regrets that her brother 
had proved so recreant to the teachings 
of his parents as practically to        
alienate him from all his relatives4    
,one brother became a ,lutheran minister
 and lived out an honored career2 the   
others vanish and fade away into the    

mist of forgetfulness4  ,so far as we   
know1 all the children were strong and  
well except this one4 ,at birth he      
weighed but five pounds1 and his        
weakness was pitiable4 ,he was the kind 
of child the ,spartans used to make way 
with quickly1 for the good of the       
,state4 ,he had a big1 bulging head1    
thin legs1 a weak chest1 and one        
shoulder was so much higher than the    
other that it amounted almost to a      
deformity4  ,as the years went by1 the  
parents saw he was not big enough to    
work1 but hope was not dead--they would 
make a preacher of him6 ,to this end he 
was sent to the ,fredericianium1 a      
graded school of no mean quality4 ,the  
master of this school was a worthy      
clergyman by the name of ,schultz1 who  
was attracted to the ,kant boy1 it      
seems1 on account of his insignificant  
size4 ,it was the affection of the      
shepherd for the friendless ewe lamb4 ,a
 little later the teacher began to love 
the boy for his big head and the        

thoughts he worked out of it4 ,brawn is 
bought with a price--young men who bank 
on it get it as legal tender4 ,those who
 have no brawn have to rely on brain or 
go without honors4 ,immanuel ,kant began
 to ask his school-teacher questions    
that made the good man laugh4  ,at      
sixteen ,kant entered ,albertina        
,university4 ,and there he was to remain
 his entire life--student1 tutor1       
teacher1 professor4  ,he must have been 
an efficient youth1 for before he was   
eighteen he realized that the best way  
to learn is to teach4 ,the idea of      
becoming a clergyman was at first strong
 upon him2 and ,pastor ,schultz         
occasionally sent the youth out to      
preach1 or lead religious services in   
rural districts4 ,this embryo preacher  
had a habit of placing a box behind the 
pulpit and standing on it while         
preaching4 ,then we find him reasoning  
the matter out in this way3 ,i stand on 
a box to preach so as to impress the    
people by my height or to conceal my    

insignificant size4 ,this is pretense   
and a desire to carry out the idea that 
the preacher is bigger every way than   
common people4 ,i talk with ,god in     
pretended prayer1 and this looks as if  
,i were on easy and familiar terms with 
,deity4 ,is it like those folks who     
claim to be on friendly terms with      
princes3 ,if ,i do not know anything    
about ,god1 why should ,i pretend ,i do8
  ,this desire to be absolutely honest  
with himself gradually grew until he    
informed the ,pastor that he had better 
secure young men for preachers who could
 impress people without standing on a   
box4 ,as for himself1 he would impress  
people by the size of his head1 if he   
impressed them at all4 ,let it here be  
noted that ,kant then weighed exactly   
one hundred pounds1 and was less than   
five feet high4 ,his head measured      
twenty-four inches around1 and fifteen  
and one-half inches over firmness from  
the opening of the ears4 ,to put it     
another way1 he wore a seven-and-a-half 

hat4  ,it is a great thing for a man to 
pride himself on what he is and make the
 best of it4 ,the pride of craftsman    
betokens a valuable man4 ,we exaggerate 
our worth1 and this is ,nature's plan to
 get the thing done4  ,kant's pride of  
intellect1 in degree1 came from his     
insignificant form1 and thus do all     
things work together for good4 ,but this
 bony little form was often full of     
pain1 and he had headaches1 which led a 
wit to say1 ,if a head like yours aches1
 it must be worse than to be a giraffe  
and have a sore throat4  ,young ,kant   
began to realize that to have a big     
head1 and get the right use from it1 one
 must have vital power enough to feed   
it4  ,the brain is the engine--the lungs
 and digestive apparatus the boiler4    
,thought is combustion4  ,young ,kant1  
the uncouth1 became possessed of an idea
 that made him the butt of many gibes   
and jeers4 ,he thought that if he could 
breathe enough1 he would be able to     
think clearly1 and headaches would be   

gone4 ,life1 he said1 was a matter of   
breathing1 and all men died from one    
cause--a shortness of breath4 ,in order 
to think clearly1 you must breathe4  ,we
 believe things first and prove them    
later2 our belief is usually right1 when
 derived from experience1 but the       
reasons we give are often wrong4 ,for   
instance1 ,kant cured his physical ills 
by going out of doors1 and breathing    
deeply and slowly with closed mouth4    
,gradually his health began to improve4 
,but the young man1 not knowing at that 
time much about physiology1 wrote a     
paper proving that the benefit came from
 the fresh air that circulated through  
his brain4 ,and of course in one sense  
he was right4 ,he related the incident  
of this thesis many years after in a    
lecture1 to show the result of right    
action and wrong reasoning4  ,the       
doctors had advised ,kant he must quit  
study1 but when he took up his breathing
 fad1 he renounced the doctors1 and     
later denounced them4 ,if he were going 

to die1 he would die without the benefit
 of either the clergy or the physicians4
  ,he denied that he was sick1 and at   
night would roll himself in his blankets
 and repeat half-aloud1 ,how comfortable
 ,i am1 how comfortable ,i am1 until he 
fell asleep4  ,near his house ran a     
narrow street1 just a half-mile long4   
,he walked this street up and back1 with
 closed mouth1 breathing deeply1 waving 
a rattan cane to ward away talkative    
neighbors1 and to keep up the           
circulation in his arms4 ,once and      
back--in a month he had increased this  
to twice and back4 ,in a year he had    
come to the conclusion that to walk the 
length of that street eight times was   
the right and proper thing--that is to  
say1 four miles in all4 ,in other words1
 he had found out how much exercise he  
required--not too much or too little4   
,at exactly half-past three he came out 
of his lodging1 wearing his cocked hat  
and long1 snuff-colored coat1 and       
walked4 ,the neighbors used to set their

 clocks by him4 ,he walked and breathed 
with closed mouth1 and no one dare      
accost him or walk with him4 ,the hour  
was sacred and must not be broken in    
upon3 it was his holy time--his time of 
breathing4  ,the little street is there 
now--one of the sights of ,konigsberg1  
and the cab-drivers point it out as the 
,philosopher's ,walk4 ,and ,kant walked 
that little street eight times every    
afternoon from the day he was twenty to 
within a year of his death1 when eighty 
years old4  ,this walking and breathing 
habit physiologists now recognize as    
eminently scientific1 and there is no   
sensible physician but will endorse     
,kant's wisdom in renouncing doctors and
 adopting a regimen of his own4 ,the    
thing you believe in will probably      
benefit you--faith is hygienic4  ,the   
persistency of the little man's         
character is shown in the breathing     
habit--he believed in himself1 relied on
 himself1 and that which experience     
commended1 he did4  ,this firmness in   

following his own ideas saved his life4 
,when we think of one born in obscurity1
 living in poverty1 handicapped by pain1
 weakness and deformity2 never          
traveling2 and then by sheer persistency
 and force of will rising to the first  
place among thinking men of his time1   
one is almost willing to accept ,kant's 
dictum1 ,mind is supreme1 and the       
,universe is but the reflected thought  
of ,god4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,kant was great enough to  
doubt appearances and distrust popular  
conclusions4 ,he knew that fallacies of 
reasoning follow fast upon              
actions--reason follows by slow freight4
 ,it is quite necessary that we should  
believe in a ,supreme ,power1 but quite 
irrelevant that we should prove it4     
,truth for the most part is unpopular1  
and the proof of this statement lies in 
the fact that it is so seldom told4     
,preachers tell people what they wish to
 hear1 and indeed this must be so as    
long as the congregation that hears the 

preaching pays for it4 ,people will not 
pay for anything they do not like4      
,hence1 preaching leads naturally to    
sophistication and hypocrisy1 and the   
promise of endless bliss for ourselves  
and a hell for our enemies comes about  
as a matter of course4 ,what men will   
listen to and pay for is the real       
science of theology4 ,that is to say1   
the science of theology is the science  
of manipulating men4 ,success in        
theology consists in finding a fallacy  
that is palatable and then banking on   
it4 ,again and again ,kant points out   
that a clergyman's advice is usually    
worthless1 because pure truth is out of 
his province--unaccustomed1 undesirable1
 inexpedient4  ,and ,kant thought this  
was true also of doctors--doctors care  
more about pleasing their patients than 
telling them truth4 ,in fact1 he said1  
no doctor with a family to support can  
afford to tell his patients that his    
symptoms are no token of a              
disease--rather uncomfortable feelings  

are proof of health1 for dead men don't 
have them4 ,most of the aches1 pains and
 so-called irregularities are remedial  
moves on the part of ,nature to keep the
 man well4 ,kant says that doctors treat
 symptoms1 not diseases1 and often the  
treatment causes the disease2 so no man 
can tell what proportion of diseases is 
caused by medicine and what by other    
forms of applied ignorance4  ,as for    
lawyers1 our little philosopher         
considered them1 for the most part1     
sharks and wreckers4 ,a lawyer looks    
over an estate1 not with the idea of    
keeping it intact1 but of dissolving it1
 and getting a part of it for himself4  
,not that men prefer to do what is      
wrong1 but self-interest can always     
produce sufficient reasons to satisfy   
the conscience4 ,lawyers1 being attaches
 of courts of justice1 regard themselves
 as protectors of the people1 when      
really they are the plunderers of the   
people1 and their business is quite as  
much to defeat justice as to administer 

it4 ,the evasion of law is as truly a   
lawyer's work as compliance with law4   
,then our philosopher explains that if  
law and justice were synonymous1 this   
state of affairs would be most          
deplorable2 but as it is1 no particular 
harm is worked1 save in the moral       
degradation of the lawyers4 ,the        
connivance of lawyers tames the rank    
injustices of law2 hence1 to a degree1  
we live in a land where there is neither
 law nor justice--save such justice as  
can be appropriated by the man who is   
diplomat enough to do without lawyers   
and wise enough to have no property4    
,justice1 however1 to ,kant is a very   
uncertain quantity1 and he is rather    
inclined to regard the idea that men are
 able to administer justice as on a par 
with the assumption of the priest that  
he is dealing with ,god4  ,kant once    
said1 ,when a woman demands justice1 she
 means revenge4  ,a pupil here          
interposed1 and asked the master if this
 was not equally true of men1 and the   

answer was1 ,i accept the amendment--it 
certainly is true of all men ,i ever saw
 in courtrooms4  ,does death end all8   
,no1 said ,kant2 there is the litigation
 over the estate4  ,kant's constant     
reiteration that he had no use for      
doctors1 lawyers and preachers1 we can  
well imagine did not add to his         
popularity4 ,as for his reasoning       
concerning lawyers1 we can all1         
probably1 recall a few jug-shaped       
attorneys who fill the ,kant            
requirements--takers of contingent fees 
and stirrers-up of strife3 men who watch
 for vessels on the rocks and lure with 
false lights the mariner to his doom4   
,but matters since ,kant's day have     
changed considerably for the better4    
,there is a demand now for a lawyer who 
is a businessman and who will keep      
people out of trouble instead of getting
 them in4 ,and we also have a few       
physicians who are big enough to tell a 
man there is nothing the matter with    
him1 if they think so1 and then charge  

him accordingly--in inverse ratio to the
 amount of medicine administered4  ,and 
while we no longer refer to the         
clergyman as our spiritual adviser1     
except1 perhaps1 in way of pleasantry1  
he surely is useful as a social         
promoter4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,the parents of ,kant were 
,lutherans--punctilious and pious4 ,they
 were descended from ,scotch soldiers   
who had come over there two hundred     
years before and settled down after the 
war1 just as the ,hessians settled down 
and went to farming in ,pennsylvania1   
their descendants occasionally becoming 
,daughters of the ,revolution1 because  
their grandsires fought with            
,washington4  ,this ,scotch strain gave 
a sturdy bias to the ,kants--these      
,lutherans were really rebels1 and as   
every one knows1 there are only two ways
 of dealing with a religious            
,scotchman--agree with him or kill him4 
,most people said that ,kant was        
supremely stubborn--he himself called it

 firmness in the right4 ,once1 when a   
couple of calumniators were thinking up 
all the bad things they could say about 
him1 one of them exclaimed1 ,he isn't   
five feet high6  ,liar6 came the shrill 
voice of the ,philosopher1 who had      
accidentally overheard them1 ,liar6 ,i  
am exactly five feet6 ,and he drew      
himself up1 and struck his staff proudly
 and defiantly on the ground4  ,which   
reminds one of the story told of        
,professor ,josiah ,royce1 who once rang
 up six fares on the register when he   
wished to stop a ,boston street-car4    
,when the conductor protested1 the      
philosopher called him up-start1        
curmudgeon and nincompoop1 and showed   
the fallacy of his claim that thirty    
cents had been lost1 since nobody had   
found it4 ,moreover1 he offered to prove
 his proposition by algebraic equation1 
if one of the gentlemen present had     
chalk and blackboard on his person4     
,once ,kant was looking at the flowers  
in a beautiful garden4 ,but instead of  

looking through the iron pickets1 he    
stooped over and was squinting through  
the key-hole of the lock4 ,a student    
coming along asked him why he didn't    
look through the pickets and thus get a 
perfect view4  ,go on1 you fool1 was the
 stern reply2 ,i am studying the law of 
optics--the unobstructed vision reveals 
too much--the vivid view is only gotten 
through a small aperture4  ,all of which
 was believed to be a sudden inspiration
 in way of reply that came to the great 
professor when caught doing an          
absent-minded thing4 ,that ,kant was not
 above a little pious prevarication is  
shown by a story he himself tells4 ,he  
was never inside of a church once during
 the last fifty years of his life4 ,but 
when he became ,chancellor of the       
,university1 one of his duties was to   
lead a procession to the ,cathedral1    
where certain formal religious services 
were held4 ,kant tried to have the      
exercises in a hall1 but failing in     
this1 he did his duty1 and marched like 

a pigmy drum-major at the head of the   
cavalcade4  ,now he will have to go in1 
the scoffers said4  ,but he didn't4     
,arriving at the church-door1 he excused
 himself1 pleading an urgent necessity1 
walked around to the back of the church1
 sacrificed1 like ,diogenes1 to all the 
gods at once1 and made off for home1    
quietly chuckling to himself at the     
thought of how he had circumvented the  
enemy4  ,every actor has just so many   
make-ups and no more4 ,usually the      
characters he assumes are variations of 
a single one4 ,steele ,mackaye used to  
say1 ,there are only five distinct      
dramatic situations4 ,the artist1 too1  
has his properties4 ,and the recognition
 of this truth caused ,massillon to say1
 ,the great preacher has but one sermon1
 yet out of this he makes many--by      
giving portions of it backwards1 or     
beginning in the middle and working both
 ways1 or presenting patchwork pieces1  
tinted and colored by his mood4 ,all    
public speakers have canned goods they  

fall back upon when the fresh fruit of  
thought grows scarce4  ,the literary man
 also has his puppets1 pet phrases1 and 
situations to his liking4 ,victor ,hugo 
always catches the attention by a blind 
girl1 a hunchback1 a hunted convict or  
some mutilated and maimed unfortunate4  
,in his lectures1 ,kant used to please  
the boys by such phrases as this1 ,i    
dearly love the muse1 although ,i must  
admit that ,i have never been the       
recipient of any of her favors4 ,this   
took so well that later he was          
encouraged to say1 ,the ,old            
,metaphysics is positively unattractive1
 but the ,new ,metaphysics is to me most
 lovely1 although ,i can not boast that 
,i have ever been honored by any of her 
favors4  ,a large audience caused ,kant 
to lose his poise--he became            
self-conscious--but in his own little   
lecture-room1 with a dozen1 or fifty at 
the most 7because this was the capacity 
of the room71 he was charming4 ,he would
 fix his eye on a single boy1 and often 

upon a single button on this boy's coat1
 and forgetting the immediate theme in  
hand1 would ramble into an amusing and  
most instructive monolog of criticism   
concerning politics1 pedagogy or current
 events4 ,in his writing he was exact1  
heavy and complex1 but in these         
heart-to-heart talks1 ,herder1 who      
attended ,kant's lectures for five      
years1 says1 ,the man had a deal of     
nimble wit1 and here ,kant was at his   
best4  ,so we have two different        
men--the man who wrote the ,critique and
 the man who gave the lectures and      
clarified his thought by explaining     
things to others4 ,it was in the        
lectures that he threw off this3 ,men   
are creatures that can not do without   
their kind1 yet are sure to quarrel when
 together4 ,this took fairly well1 and  
later he said1 ,men can not do without  
men1 yet they hate each other when      
together4 ,and in a year after1 comes   
this3 ,a man is miserable without a     
wife1 and is seldom happy after he gets 

one4 ,no doubt this caused a shout of   
applause from the students1 college boys
 being always on the lookout for just   
such things2 and coming from a very     
confirmed old bachelor it was peculiarly
 fetching4  ,to say that ,kant was      
devoid of wit1 as many writers do1 is   
not to know the man4 ,about a year after
 the ,critique of ,pure ,reason         
appeared1 he wrote this3 ,i am obliged  
to the learned public for the silence   
with which it has honored my book1 as   
this silence means a suspension of      
judgment and a wise determination not to
 voice a premature opinion4 ,he knew    
perfectly well that the learned public  
had not read his book1 and moreover1    
could not1 intelligently1 and the       
silence betokened simply a stupid lack  
of interest4 ,moreover1 he knew there   
was no such thing as a learned public4  
,kant's remark reveals a keen wit1 and  
it also reveals something more--the     
pique of the unappreciated author who   
declares he doesn't care what the public

 thinks of him1 and thereby reveals the 
fact that he does4  ,here are a couple  
of remarks that could only have been    
made in the reign of ,frederick the     
,great1 and under the spell of a college
 lecture3 ,the statement that man is the
 noblest work of ,god was never made by 
anybody but man1 and must therefore be  
taken 'cum grano salis4' ,we are told   
that ,god said ,he made man in ,his own 
image1 but the remark was probably      
ironical4  ,schopenhauer says3 ,the     
chief jewel in the crown of ,frederick  
the ,great is ,immanuel ,kant4 ,such a  
man as ,kant could not have held a      
salaried position under any other       
monarch on the globe at that time and   
have expressed the things that ,kant    
did4 ,a little earlier or a little      
later1 and there would have been no such
 person as ,immanuel ,kant4 ,rulers are 
seldom big men1 but if they are big     
enough to recognize and encourage big   
men1 they deserve the gratitude of      
mankind6     ,,swedenborg        ,when a

 man's deeds are discovered after death1
 his angels1 who are      inquisitors1  
look into his face1 and extend their    
examination over      his whole body1   
beginning with the fingers of each hand4
 ,i was      surprised at this1 and the 
reason was thus explained to me3        
,every volition and thought of man is   
inscribed on his brain2 for             
volition and thought have their         
beginnings in the brain1 thence         
they are conveyed to the bodily members1
 wherein they terminate4      ,whatever1
 therefore1 is in the mind is in the    
brain1 and from the      brain in the   
body1 according to the order of its     
parts4 ,so a man      writes his life in
 his physique1 and thus the angels      
discover his      autobiography in his  
structure4                              
--,swedenborg's ,spirit ,world          
,illustration3 ,,swedenborg   ,a bucolic
 citizen of ,east ,aurora1 on being     
questioned by a visitor as to his       
opinion of a certain literary man1      

exclaimed3 ,smart8 ,is he smart8 ,why1  
,missus1 he writes things nobody can    
understand6  ,this sounds like a        
paraphrase 7but it isn't7 of the old    
lady's remark on hearing ,henry ,ward   
,beecher preach4 ,she went home and     
said1 ,i don't think he is so very      
great--,i understood everything he said6
  ,paganini wrote musical scores for the
 violin1 which no violinist has ever    
been able to play4 ,victor ,herbert has 
recently analyzed some of these         
compositions and shown that ,paganini   
himself could never have played them    
without using four hands and handling   
two bows at once4 ,so far1 no one can   
play a duet on the piano2 the hand can  
span only so many keys1 and the attempt 
of ,robert ,schumann to improve on      
,nature by building an artificial       
extension to his fingers was vetoed by  
paralysis of the members4 ,two bodies   
can not occupy the same space at the    
same time2 mathematics has its limit1   
for you can not look out of a window    

four and a half times4 ,the dictum of   
,ingersoll that all sticks and strings  
have two ends has not yet been          
disproved2 and ,herbert ,spencer        
discovered1 for his own satisfaction1   
fixed limits beyond which the mind can  
not travel4 ,his expression1 the        
,unknowable1 reminds one of those old   
maps wherein vast sections were labeled1
 ,terra ,incognita4  ,if we read        
,emanuel ,swedenborg1 we find that these
 vast stretches in the domain of thought
 which ,herbert ,spencer disposed of as 
the ,unknowable have been traversed and 
minutely described4 ,swedenborg's books 
are so learned that even ,herbert       
,spencer could not read them3 his scores
 are so intricate1 his compositions so  
involved1 that no man can play them4    
,the mystic who sees more than he can   
explain is universally regarded as an   
unsafe and unreliable person4 ,the      
people who consult him go away and do as
 they please1 and faith in his          
prophecies weaken as his opinions and   

hopes vary from theirs4 ,we stand by the
 clairvoyant just as long as he gives us
 palatable things1 and no longer1 and   
nobody knows this better than your genus
 clairvoyant4 ,when his advice is       
contrary to our desires1 we pronounce   
him a fraud and go our way4 ,when       
enterprises of great pith and moment are
 to be carried through1 we give the     
power into the hands of the worldling   
infidel1 rather than the spiritual seer4
  ,the person on intimate terms with    
another world seldom knows much about   
this1 and when ,robert ,browning tells  
of ,sludge1 the ,medium1 he symbols his 
opinion of all mediums4 ,a medium1 if   
sincere1 is one who has abandoned his   
intellect and turned the bark of reason 
rudderless1 adrift4 ,this is entirely   
apart from the very common reinforcement
 of usual psychic powers with fraud1    
which1 beginning in self-deception1 puts
 out from port without papers and sails 
the sea with forged letters of marque   
and reprisal4  ,there are mediums in    

every city who tell us they are guided  
by ,shakespeare1 ,dante1 ,milton1       
,luther1 ,tennyson or ,henry ,ward      
,beecher4 ,so we are led to believe that
 the chief business of great men in the 
spiritual realm is to guide commonplace 
men in this1 and cause them to take pen 
in hand4  ,all publishers are perfectly 
familiar with these productions written 
by people who think they are psychic    
when they are only sick4 ,and ,i have   
never yet seen a publisher's reader who 
had found anything in inspirational     
writing but words1 words1 words4        
,high-sounding paraphrases and rolling  
sentences do not make literature2 and so
 far as we know1 only the fallible1 live
 and loving man or woman can breathe    
into the nostrils of a literary         
production the breath of life4 ,all the 
rest is only lifeless clay4  ,that      
mystery enshrouds the workings of the   
mind1 and that some people have         
remarkable mental experiences1 none will
 deny4 ,people who can not write at all 

in a normal mood will1 under a psychic  
spell1 produce high-sounding literary   
reverberations1 or play the piano or    
paint a picture4 ,yet the literature is 
worthless1 the music indifferent1 and   
the picture bad2 but1 like ,doctor      
,johnson's simile of the dog that walked
 on its hind legs1 while the walking is 
never done well1 we are amazed that it  
can be done at all4  ,the astounding    
assumption comes in when we leap the    
gulf and attribute these peculiar       
rappings and all this ability of seeing 
around a corner to disembodied spirits4 
,the people with credulity plus1        
however1 always close our mouths with   
this1 ,if it isn't spirits1 what in the 
world is it8 ,and we1 crestfallen and   
abashed1 are forced to say1 ,we do not  
know4  ,the absolute worthlessness of   
spiritual communication comes in when we
 are told by the medium1 caught in a    
contradiction1 that spirits are awful   
liars4 ,on this point all mediums agree3
 many disembodied spirits are much given

 to untruth1 and the man who is a liar  
here will be a liar there4  ,swedenborg 
was so annoyed with this disposition on 
the part of spirits to prevaricate that 
he says1 ,i usually conduct my affairs  
regardless of their advice4 ,when a     
spirit came to him and said1 ,i am the  
shade of ,aristotle1 ,swedenborg        
challenged him1 and the spirit          
acknowledged he was only ,jimmy ,smith4 
,this is delightfully naive and surely  
reveals the man's sanity3 he was        
deceived by neither living nor dead3 he 
accepted or rejected communications as  
they appealed to his reason3 he kept his
 literature and his hallucinations      
separate from his business1 and never   
did a thing which did not gibe with his 
reason4 ,in this way he lived to be     
eighty1 earnest1 yet composed1 serene1  
steering safely clear from ,bedlam1 by  
making his commonsense the court of last
 appeal4  ,emerson says that the critic 
who will render the greatest gift to    
modern civilization is the one who will 

show us how to fuse the characters of   
,shakespeare and ,swedenborg4 ,one      
stands for intellect1 the other for     
spirituality4 ,we need both1 but we tire
 of too much goodness1 virtue palls on  
us1 and if we hear only psalms sung1 we 
will long for the clink of glasses and  
the brave choruses of unrestrained      
good-fellowship4 ,a slap on the back may
 give you a thrill of delight that the  
touch of holy water on your forehead can
 not lend4  ,shakespeare hasn't much    
regard for concrete truth2 ,swedenborg  
is devoted to nothing else4 ,shakespeare
 moves jauntily1 airily1 easily1 with   
careless indifference2 ,swedenborg lives
 earnestly1 seriously1 awfully4         
,shakespeare thinks that truth is only a
 point of view1 a local issue1 a matter 
of geography2 ,swedenborg considers it  
an exact science1 with boundaries fixed 
and cornerstones immovable1 and the     
business of his life was to map the     
domain4  ,if you would know the man     
,shakespeare1 you will find him usually 

in cap and bells4 ,jaques1 ,costard1    
,trinculo1 ,mercutio1 are confessions1  
for into the mouths of these he puts his
 wisest maxims4 ,shakespeare dearly     
loved a fool1 because he was one4 ,he   
plays with truth as a kitten gambols    
with a ball of yarn4  ,so ,emerson would
 have us reconcile the holy zeal for    
truth and the swish of this bright blade
 of the intellect4 ,he himself confesses
 that after reading ,swedenborg he turns
 to ,shakespeare and reads ,as ,you     
,like ,it with positive delight1 because
 ,shakespeare isn't trying to prove     
anything4 ,the monks of the olden time  
read ,rabelais and ,saint ,augustine    
with equal relish4  ,possibly we take   
these great men too                     
seriously--literature is only           
incidental1 and what any man says about 
anything matters little1 except to      
himself4 ,no book is of much importance2
 the vital thing is3 ,what do you       
yourself think8  ,when we read          
,shakespeare in a parlor class there are

 many things we read over rapidly--the  
teacher does not stop to discuss them4  
,the remarks of ,ophelia or the shepherd
 talk of ,corin are indecent only when  
you stop and linger over them2 it will  
not do to sculpture such things--let    
them forever remain in gaseous form4    
,when ,george ,francis ,train picked out
 certain parts of the ,bible and printed
 them1 and was arrested for publishing  
obscene literature1 the charge was      
proper and right4 ,there are things that
 need not to be emphasized--they may all
 be a part of life1 but in books they   
should be slurred over as representing  
simply a passing glimpse of nature4     
,and so the earnest and minute arguments
 of ,swedenborg need not give us        
headache in efforts to comprehend them4 
,they were written for himself1 as a    
scaffolding for his imagination4 ,don't 
take ,jonathan ,edwards too             
seriously--he means well1 but we know   
more4 ,we know we do not know anything1 
and he never got that far4  ,the        

bracketing of the names of ,shakespeare 
and ,swedenborg is eminently well4 ,they
 are ,titans both4 ,in the presence of  
such giants1 small men seem to wither   
and blow away4 ,swedenborg was cast in  
heroic mold1 and no other man since     
history began ever compassed in himself 
so much physical science1 and with it   
all on his back1 made such daring       
voyages into the clouds4  ,the men who  
soar highest and know most about another
 world usually know little about this4  
,no man of his time was so competent a  
scientist as ,swedenborg1 and no man    
before or since has mapped so minutely  
the ,heavenly ,kingdom4  ,shakespeare's 
feet were really never off the ground4  
,his excursion in ,the ,tempest was only
 in a captured balloon4 ,ariel and      
,caliban he secured out of an old book  
of fables4  ,shakespeare knew little    
about physics2 economics and sociology  
never troubled him2 he had small ,latin 
and less ,greek2 he never traveled1 and 
the history of the rocks was to him a   

blank4  ,swedenborg anticipated ,darwin 
in a dozen ways2 he knew the classic    
languages and most of the modern2 he    
traveled everywhere2 he was a practical 
economist1 and the best civil engineer  
of his day4  ,shakespeare knew the human
 heart--where the wild storms arise and 
where the passions die--the ,delectable 
,isles where ,allah counts not the days1
 and the swamps where love turns to hate
 and ,hell knocks on the gates of       
,heaven4 ,shakespeare knew humanity1 but
 little else2 ,swedenborg knew          
everything else1 but here he balked1 for
 woman's love never unlocked for him the
 secrets of the human heart4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,emanuel 
,swedenborg was born at ,stockholm1     
,sweden1 in ,sixteen ,hundred           
,eighty-eight4 ,his father was a bishop 
in the ,lutheran ,church1 a professor in
 the theological seminary1 a writer on  
various things1 and withal a man of     
marked power and worth4 ,he was a       
spiritualist1 heard voices and received 

messages from the spirit world4 ,it will
 be remembered that ,martin ,luther1 in 
his monkish days1 heard voices1 and was 
in communication with both angels and   
devils4 ,many of his followers1 knowing 
of his strange experiences1 gave        
themselves up to fasts and vigils1 and  
they1 too1 saw things4 ,abstain from    
food for two days and this sense of     
lightness and soaring is the usual      
result4 ,so strong is example1 and so   
prone are we to follow in the footsteps 
of those we love1 that one psychic is   
sure to develop more4 ,little ,emanuel  
,swedenborg1 aged seven1 saw angels1    
too1 and when his father had a vision1  
he straightway matched it with a bigger 
one4  ,then we find the mother of the   
boy getting alarmed1 and peremptorily   
putting her foot down and ordering her  
husband to cease all celestial          
excursions4  ,emanuel was set to work at
 his books and in the garden1 and no    
more rappings was he to hear1 nor       
strange white lights to see1 until he   

was fifty-six years old4  ,sweden is the
 least illiterate country on the globe1 
and has been for three hundred years4   
,her climate is eminently fitted to     
produce one fine product--men4 ,the     
winter's cold does not subdue nor       
suppress1 but tends to that earnest     
industry which improves the passing     
hours4 ,the ,scandinavians make hay     
while the sun shines2 but in countries  
where the sun shines all the time men   
make no hay4 ,in ,florida1 where flowers
 bloom the whole year through1 even the 
bees quit work and say1 ,what's the use8
  ,emanuel ,swedenborg climbed the      
mountains with his father1 fished in the
 fjords1 collected the mosses on the    
rocks1 and wrote out at length all of   
their amateur discoveries4 ,the boy grew
 strong in body1 lithe of limb1 clear of
 eye--noble and manly4  ,his affection  
for his parents was perfect4 ,when      
fifteen he addressed to them letters of 
apostrophe1 all in studied words of     
deference and curious compliment1 like1 

say1 the letters of ,columbus to        
,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,his purity of
 purpose was sublime1 and the jewel of  
his soul was integrity4  ,at college he 
easily stood at the head of his class4  
,he reduced calculus to its simplest    
forms1 and made abstractions plain4     
,even his tutors could not follow him4  
,once the ,king's actuary was called    
upon to verify some of his calculations4
 ,this brought him to the notice of the 
,king1 and thereafter he was always on  
easy and familiar terms with royalty4   
,there is no hallucination in           
mathematics--figures do not lie1        
although mathematicians may1 but this   
one never did4  ,we look in vain for    
college pranks1 and some of those absurd
 and foolish things in which young men  
delight4 ,we wish he could unbend1 and  
be indiscreet1 or even impolite1 just to
 show us his humanity4 ,but no1 he is   
always grave1 earnest1 dignified1 and   
rebukingly handsome4 ,the college grind 
with bulging forehead1 round shoulders1 

myopic vision and shambling gait is well
 known in every college1 and serves as  
the butt of innumerable practical jokes4
 ,but no one took liberties with        
,emanuel ,swedenborg either in boyhood  
or in after-life4 ,his countenance was  
stern1 yet not forbidding2 his form     
tall1 manly and muscular1 and his       
persistent mountain-climbing and outdoor
 prospecting and botanizing gave him a  
glow of health which the typical grubber
 after facts very seldom has4  ,thus we 
find ,emanuel ,swedenborg walking with  
stately tread through college1 taking   
all the honors1 looked upon by teachers 
and professors with a sort of awe1 and  
pointed out by his fellow students in   
subdued wonder4 ,his physical strength  
became a byword1 yet we do not find he  
ever exercised it in contests2 but it   
served as a protection1 and commanded   
respect from all the underlings4  ,at   
twenty we find him falling violently in 
love1 the one sole love-affair of his   
lone life4 ,instead of going to the girl

 he placed the matter before her father1
 and secured from him a written warrant 
for the damsel1 returnable in three     
years' time4 ,this document he carried  
with him1 pored over it1 slept with it  
under his pillow4 ,as for the girl1     
timid1 sensitive1 aged fifteen1 she fled
 on his approach1 and shook with fear if
 he looked at her4 ,he made his love    
plain by logical formulas and proved his
 passion by geometrical permutations--by
 charts and diagrams4 ,a seasoned widow 
might have broken up the icy fastness of
 his soul and melted his forbidding     
nature in the crucible of feeling1 but  
this poor girl just wanted some one to  
hold her little hand and say peace to   
her fluttering heart4 ,how could she go 
plump herself in his lap1 pull his ears 
and tell him he was a fool8 ,finally1   
the girl's brother1 seeing her distress1
 stole the precious warrant from        
,swedenborg's coat1 tore it up1 and     
,swedenborg knew his case was hopeless4 
,he brought calculus to bear1 and proved

 by the law of averages that there were 
just as good fish in the sea as ever    
were caught4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,at twenty-one    
,swedenborg graduated at the ,university
 of ,upsala4 ,he took the degree of     
,doctor of ,philosophy1 and was sent on 
a tour of the ,european capitals to     
complete his education4 ,he visited     
,hamburg1 ,paris1 ,vienna and then went 
to ,london1 where he remained a year4   
,he bore letters from the ,king of      
,sweden that admitted him readily into  
the best society1 and as far as we know 
he carried himself with dignity1 filled 
with a zeal to know and to become4  ,one
 prime object in his travel was to learn
 the language of the country that he was
 in1 and so we hear of his writing home1
 ,in ,hamburg ,i speak only ,german2 at 
,paris ,i talk and think in ,french2 in 
,london no one doubts but that ,i am an 
,englishman4 ,this not only reveals the 
young man's accomplishments1 but shows  
that sublime confidence in himself which

 never forsook him4  ,the desire of his 
father was that he should enter the     
diplomatic service of the government1   
and the interest the ,king took in his  
welfare shows that the way was opening  
in that direction4 ,but in the various  
cities where he traveled he merely used 
his consular letters to reach the men in
 each place who knew most of            
mathematics1 anatomy1 geology1 astronomy
 and physics4 ,he hunted out the        
thinkers and the doers1 and it seems he 
had enough specific gravity of soul so  
he was never turned away4  ,when big men
 meet for the first time1 they try      
conclusions just as surely as do the    
patriarchs of the herds4 ,instantly     
there is a mental duel1 before scarcely 
a word is spoken1 and the psychic       
measurements then and there taken are   
usually about correct4  ,the very       
silence of a superior person is         
impressive4 ,and knowing this1 we do not
 wonder that ,swedenborg would sometimes
 call unannounced on men in high        

station1 and forgetting his letters1    
would ask for an interview4 ,the        
audacity of the request would break down
 the barriers1 and his calm1 quiet      
self-possession would do the rest4 ,the 
man wanted nothing but knowledge4       
,returning home at twenty-seven1 he     
wrote out two voluminous reports of his 
travels1 one for his father and one for 
the ,king4 ,these reports were so       
complete1 so learned1 so full of        
allusion1 suggestion and advice1 that it
 is probable they were never read4  ,he 
was made ,assessor of the ,school of    
,mines1 an office which we would call   
that of ,assayer1 and his business was  
to give scientific advice as to the     
value of ores and the best ways to mine 
and smelt them4  ,about this time we    
hear of ,swedenborg writing to his      
brother explaining that he was working  
on the model of a boat that would       
navigate below the surface of the sea1  
and do great damage to the enemy2 a gun 
that would discharge a thousand bullets 

a minute2 a flying machine that would   
sail the air like a gull2 a mechanical  
chariot that would go twenty miles an   
hour on a smooth road without horses2   
and a plan of mathematics which would   
quickly and simply enable us to compute 
and express fractions4 ,we also hear of 
his inventing a treadmill chariot1 which
 carried the horse on board the vehicle1
 but the horse once ran away and        
attained such a velocity in the streets 
of ,stockholm that people declared the  
whole thing was a diabolical invention1 
and in deference to popular clamor      
,swedenborg discontinued his experiments
 along this line4  ,one is amazed that  
this man in the early days of the       
,eighteenth ,century should have        
anticipated the submarine boat1 and     
guessed what could be done by the       
expansion of steam2 prophesied a        
,gatling gun1 and made a motor-car that 
carried the horse1 working on a         
treadmill and propelling the vehicle    
faster than the horse could go on the   

ground2 and if the inventor had had the 
gasoline he surely would have made an   
automobile4  ,his diversity of inventive
 genius was finally focalized on        
building sluiceways and canals for the  
government1 and he set ,holyoke an      
example by running the water back and   
forth in canals and utilizing the power 
over and over again4  ,later he was     
called upon to break a blockade by      
transferring ships overland a distance  
of fourteen miles4 ,this he successfully
 did by the use of a roller railway1 and
 as a reward for the feat was duly      
knighted by the ,king4  ,the one idea   
that he worked out in detail and gave to
 the world1 and which the world has not 
improved upon1 is our present decimal   
system4  ,as the years passed1          
,swedenborg became rich4 ,he lived well1
 but not lavishly4 ,we hear of his      
having his private carriages and being  
attended by servants on his travels4    
,he lectured at various universities1   
and on account of his close association 

with royalty1 as well as on account of  
his own high character and strong       
personality1 he was a commanding figure 
wherever he went4 ,his life was full to 
the brim4  ,and we naturally expect that
 a man of wealth1 with all the honors   
belonging to any one person1 should take
 on a comforting accumulation of        
adipose1 and encyst himself in the      
conventionalities of church1 state and  
society4  ,and this was what the man    
himself saw in store1 for at forty-six  
he wrote a book on science1 setting     
forth his ideas and making accurate     
prophecies as to what would yet be      
brought about4 ,he regrets that a       
multiplicity of duties and failing      
health forbid his carrying out his      
plans1 and further adds1 ,as this is    
probably the last book ,i shall ever    
write1 ,i desire here to make known to  
posterity these thoughts which so far as
 ,i know have never been explained      
before4  ,the real fact was that at this
 time ,swedenborg's career had not      

really begun1 and if he had then died1  
his fame would not have extended beyond 
the country of his birth4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,mr4     
,poultney ,bigelow1 happening to be in  
,brighton1 ,england1 a few years ago1   
was entertained at the home of a worthy 
,london broker4 ,the family was         
prosperous and intelligent1 but clung   
closely to all conventional and churchly
 lines4 ,as happens often in ,english   
homes1 the man does most of the thinking
 and sets metes and bounds to all       
conversation as well as reading4 ,the   
mother refers to him as ,he1 and the    
children and servants look up to him and
 make mental obeisance when he speaks4  
,i hear ,herbert ,spencer lives in      
,brighton--do you ever see him8 ventured
 the guest of the hostess1 in a vain    
reaching 'round for a topic of mutual   
interest4 ,spencer--,spencer8 ,who is   
,herbert ,spencer8 asked the good       
mother4  ,but ,he caught the run of the 
talk and came to the rescue3 ,oh1       

,mother1 ,spencer is nobody you are     
interested in--just a writer of         
infidelic books6  ,the next day ,bigelow
 called on ,spencer and saw upon his    
table a copy of ,science and ,health1   
which some one had sent him4 ,he smiled 
when the ,american referred to the book1
 and in answer to a question said3 ,it  
is surely interesting1 and ,i find many 
pleasing maxims scattered through it4   
,but we can hardly call it scientific1  
any more than we can call ,swedenborg's 
',conjugal ,love' scientific4 ,and the  
author of ,first ,principles showed he  
had read ,mrs4 ,eddy's book1 for he     
turned to the chapter on ,marriage1     
calling attention to the statement that 
marriage in its present status is a     
permitted condition--a matter of        
expediency--and children will yet be    
begotten by telepathic correspondence4  
,the unintelligibility of the book      
recommends it to many and accounts for  
its vogue4 ,swedenborg's immortality is 
largely owing to the same reason1 and   

the man who once loved ,george ,eliot   
smiled not unkindly1 and the            
conversation drifted to other themes4   
,this comparison of ,swedenborg with    
,mary ,baker ,eddy is not straining a   
point4 ,no one can read ,science and    
,health intelligently unless his mind is
 first prepared for it by some one whose
 mind has been prepared for it by some  
one else4 ,it requires a deal of        
explanation2 and like the ,plan of      
,salvation1 no one would ever know      
anything about it if it wasn't          
elucidated by an educated person4       
,books strong in abstraction are a      
convenient rag-bag for your mental odds 
and ends4 ,swedenborg's philosophy is   
,science and ,health multiplied by      
forty4 ,he lays down propositions and   
proves them in a thousand pages4  ,yet  
this must be confessed3 ,the            
,swedenborgians and the ,christian      
,scientists as sects rank above most    
other denominations in point of         
intellectual worth4 ,in speaking of the 

artist ,thompson1 ,nathaniel ,hawthorne 
once wrote3 ,this artist is a man of    
thought1 and with no mean idea of art1 a
 ,swedenborgian1 or1 as he prefers to   
call it1 a member of the ,new ,church4  
,i have generally found something marked
 in men who adopt that faith4 ,he seems 
to me to possess truth in himself1 and  
to aim at it is his artistic endeavor4  
,swedenborg's essay on ,conjugal ,love  
contains four hundred thousand words and
 divides the theme into forty parts1    
each of these being subdivided into     
forty more4 ,the delights of paradise   
are pictured in the perfect mating of   
the right man with the right woman4 ,in 
order to explain what perfect marriage  
is1 ,swedenborg works by the process of 
elimination and reveals every possible  
condition of mismating4 ,every error1   
mistake1 crime1 wrong and fallacy is    
shown in order to get at the truth4     
,swedenborg tells us that he got his    
facts from four husbands and four wives 
in the ,spirit ,land1 and so his        

statements are authentic4 ,emerson      
disposes of ,swedenborg's ideal marriage
 as it exists in heaven1 as merely an   
indefinite bridal-chamber1 and intimates
 that it is the dream of one who had    
never been disillusioned by experience4 
,in ,maudsley's fine book1 ,body and    
,mind1 the statement is made that during
 ,swedenborg's stay in ,london his life 
was decidedly promiscuous4 ,fortunately 
the innocence and ignorance of          
,swedenborg's speculations are proof in 
themselves that his entire life was     
absolutely above reproach4 ,swedenborg's
 bridal-chamber is the dream of a       
school-girl1 presented by a scientific  
analyst1 a man well past his grand      
climacteric1 who imagined that the      
perpetuation of sexual bliss was a      
desirable thing4  ,emerson hints that   
there is the taint of impurity in       
,swedenborg's matrimonial excursions1   
for life and nature are right1 but      
closet speculations are bound to be     
vicious when persisted in4 ,max         

,mueller's little book1 ,a ,story of    
,german ,love1 showing the intellectual 
and spiritual uplift that comes from the
 natural and spontaneous friendship of a
 good man and woman1 is worth all the   
weighty speculations of all the virtuous
 bachelors who ever lived and raked the 
stagnant ponds of their imagination for 
an ideal4  ,the love of a recluse is not
 ,god's kind--only running water is     
pure2 the living love of a live man and 
woman absolves itself1 refines1         
benefits1 and blesses1 though it be the 
love of ,aucassin and ,nicolete1        
,plutarch and ,laura1 ,paola and        
,francesca1 ,abelard and ,heloise1 and  
they go to hell for it4  ,from his      
thirty-fourth year to his forty-sixth   
,swedenborg wrote nothing for           
publication4 ,he lectured1 traveled1 and
 advised the government on questions of 
engineering and finance1 and in various 
practical ways made himself useful4     
,then it was that he decided to break   
the silence and give the world the      

benefit of his studies1 which he does in
 his great work1 ,principia4 ,well does 
,emerson say that this work1 purporting 
to explain the birth of worlds1 places  
the man side by side with ,aristotle1   
,leonardo1 ,bacon1 ,selden1 ,copernicus 
and ,humboldt4  ,it is a book for       
giants1 written by one4 ,although the   
man was a nominal ,christian1 yet to    
him1 plainly1 the ,bible was only a book
 of fables and fairy-tales4 ,the ,mosaic
 account of ,creation is simply waived1 
as we waive ,jack the ,giant-,killer    
when dealing with the question of       
capital punishment4  ,that ,darwin read 
,swedenborg with minute care1 there is  
no doubt4 ,in the ,principia is a       
chapter on mosses wherein it is         
explained how the first vestige of      
lichen catches the dust particles of    
disintegrating rock1 and we get the     
first tokens of a coming forest4 ,darwin
 never made a point better2 and the     
nebular hypothesis and the origin of    
species are worked out with conjectures1

 fanciful flights1 queer conceits1      
poetic comparisons1 far-reaching        
analogies1 and most astounding leaps of 
imagination4  ,the man was warming to   
his task--this was not to be his last   
book--the heavens were opening before   
him1 and if he went astray it was light 
from heaven that dazzled him4 ,no one   
could converse with him1 because there  
was none who could understand him2 none 
could refute him1 because none could    
follow his winding logic1 which led to  
heights where the air was too rarefied  
for mortals to breathe4 ,he speculated  
on magnetism1 chemistry1 astronomy1     
anatomy1 geology and spiritism4 ,he     
believed a thing first and then set the 
mighty machinery of his learning to bear
 to prove it4 ,this is the universal    
method of great minds--they divine      
things first4 ,but no other scientist   
the world has ever known divined as much
 as this man4 ,he reminds us of his own 
motor-car1 with the horse inside running
 away with the machine and none to stop 

the beast in its mad flight4 ,to his    
engine there is no governor1 and he     
revolves like the screw of a steamship  
when the waves lift the craft out of the
 water4  ,there is no stimulant equal to
 expression4 ,the more men write the    
more they know4 ,swedenborg continued to
 write1 and following the ,principia    
came ,the ,animal ,kingdom1 ,the        
,economy of the ,universe1 and more vast
 reaches into the realm of fact and     
fancy4 ,his books were published at his 
own expense1 and the work was done under
 his own supervision at ,antwerp1       
,amsterdam1 ,venice1 ,vienna1 ,london   
and ,paris4 ,in all these cities he     
worked to get the benefit of their      
libraries and museums4  ,popularity was 
out of the question--only the learned   
attempted to follow his investigations1 
and these preferred to recommend his    
books rather than read them4 ,and as for
 heresy1 his disbelief in popular       
superstitions was so veiled in          
scientific formulas that it went        

unchallenged4 ,had he simplified truth  
for the masses his career would have    
been that of ,erasmus4 ,his safety lay  
in his unintelligibility4 ,he was       
gracious1 gentle1 suave1 with a calm    
self-confidence that routed every       
would-be antagonist4  ,it was in his    
fifty-sixth year that the supreme change
 came over him4 ,he was in ,london1 in  
his room1 when a great light came to    
him4 ,he was prostrated as was ,saint   
,paul on the road to ,damascus2 he lost 
consciousness1 and was awakened by a    
reassuring voice4 ,christ came to him   
and talked with him face to face2 he was
 told that he would be shown the inmost 
recesses of the ,spirit ,world1 and must
 write out the revelation for the       
benefit of humanity4  ,there was no     
disturbance in the man's general health1
 although he continued to have visions1 
trances and curious dreams4 ,he began to
 write--steadily1 day by day the        
writings went on--but from this time    
experience was disregarded1 and for him 

the material world slept2 he dealt only 
with spiritual things1 using the        
physical merely for analogy1 and his    
geology and botany were those of the    
,old ,testament4  ,returning to         
,stockholm he resigned his government   
office1 broke his engagements with the  
,university1 repudiated all scientific  
studies1 and devoted himself to his new 
mission--that is1 writing out what the  
spirits dictated1 and what he saw on his
 celestial journeys4  ,that there are   
passages of great beauty and insight in 
his work1 is very sure1 and by          
discarding what one does not understand1
 and accepting what seems reasonable and
 right1 a practical theology that serves
 and benefits can be built up4 ,the     
value of ,swedenborg lies largely in    
what you can read into him4  ,the       
,swedish ,protestant ,church in ,london 
chose him as their bishop without       
advising with him4 ,gradually other     
scattering churches did the same1 and   
after his death a well-defined cult1    

calling themselves ,swedenborgians1     
arose and his works were ranked as holy 
writ and read in the churches1 side by  
side with the ,bible4  ,swedenborg died 
in ,london1 ,march ,twenty-ninth1       
,seventeen ,hundred ,seventy-two1 aged  
eighty-four years4 ,up to the very day  
of his passing away he enjoyed good     
health1 and was possessed of a gentle1  
kind and obliging disposition that      
endeared him to all he met4 ,there is an
 idea in the minds of simple people that
 insanity is always accompanied by      
violence1 ravings and uncouth and       
dangerous conduct4 ,dreams are a        
temporary insanity--reason sleeps and   
the mind roams the universe1 uncurbed   
and wildly free4 ,on awakening1 for an  
instant we may not know where we are1   
and all things are in disorder2 but     
gradually time1 location1 size and      
correspondences find their proper place 
and we are awake4  ,should1 however1 the
 dreams of the night continue during the
 day1 when we are awake and moving      

about1 we would say the man was insane4 
,swedenborg could become oblivious to   
every external thing1 and dream at will4
 ,and to a degree his mind always       
dictated the dreams1 at least the       
subject was of his own volition4 ,if it 
was necessary to travel or transact     
business1 the dreams were postponed and 
he lived right here on earth1 a man of  
good judgment1 safe reason and proper   
conduct4  ,unsoundness of mind is not   
necessarily folly4 ,across the murky    
clouds of madness shoots and gleams1 at 
times1 the deepest insight into the     
heart of things4 ,and the fact that     
,swedenborg was unbalanced does not     
warrant us in rejecting all he said and 
taught as false and faulty4 ,he was     
always well able to take care of himself
 and to manage his affairs successfully1
 even to printing the books that contain
 the record of his ravings4 ,follow     
closely the lives of great inventors1   
discoverers1 poets and artists1 and it  
will be found that the world is debtor  

to so-called madmen for many of its     
richest gifts4 ,few1 indeed1 are they   
who can burst the bonds of custom and   
condition1 sail out across the unknown  
seas1 and bring us records of the       
,enchanted ,isles4 ,and who shall say   
where originality ends and insanity     
begins8 ,swedenborg himself attributed  
his remarkable faculties to the         
development of a sixth sense1 and       
intimates that in time all men will be  
so equipped4 ,death is as natural as    
life1 and possibly insanity is a plan of
 ,nature for sending a searchlight flash
 into the darkness of futurity4 ,insane 
or not1 thinking men everywhere agree   
that ,swedenborg blessed and benefited  
the race--preparing the way for the     
thinkers and the doers who should come  
after him4     ,,spinoza        ,men are
 so made as to resent nothing more      
impatiently than to be      treated as  
criminal on account of opinions which   
they deem true1      and charged as     
guilty for simply what wakes their      

affection to ,god      and men4 ,hence1 
laws about opinions are aimed not at the
 base but      at the noble1 and tend   
not to restrain the evil-minded but     
rather      to irritate the good1 and   
can not be enforced without great peril 
to the ,government4444 ,what evil can be
 imagined greater for a      ,state1    
than that honorable men1 because they   
have thoughts of their      own and can 
not act a lie1 are sent as culprits into
 exile6 ,what      more baneful than    
that men1 for no guilt or wrongdoing1   
but for the      generous largeness of  
their mind1 should be taken for enemies 
and      led off to death1 and that the 
torture-bed1 the terror of the bad1     
should become1 to the signal shame of   
authority1 the finest stage      for the
 public spectacle of endurance and      
virtue6                                 
--,benedict ,spinoza  ,illustration3    
,,spinoza   ,the word philosophy means  
the love of truth3 philo1 love2 soph1   
truth2 or1 if you prefer1 the love of   

that which is reasonable and right4     
,philosophy refers directly to the life 
of man--how shall we live so as to get  
the most out of this little             
,earth-,journey6  ,life is our          
heritage--we all have so much vitality  
at our disposal--what shall we do with  
it8  ,truth can be proved in just one   
way1 and no other--that is1 by living   
it4 ,you know what is good1 only by     
trying4 ,truth1 for us1 is that which   
brings good results--happiness or       
reasonable content1 health1 peace and   
prosperity4 ,these things are all       
relative--none are final1 and they are  
good only as they are mixed in right    
proportion with other things4 ,oxygen1  
we say1 is life1 but it is also death1  
for it attacks every living thing with  
pitiless persistency4 ,hydrogen is good1
 but it makes the very hottest fire     
known1 and may explode if you try to    
confine it4  ,prosperity is excellent1  
but too much is very dangerous to most  
folks2 and to seek happiness as a final 

aim is like loving love as a            
business--the end is desolation1 death4 
,good health is best secured and        
retained by those who are not anxious   
about health4 ,absolute good can never  
be known1 for always and forever creeps 
in the suspicion that if we had acted   
differently a better result might have  
followed4  ,and that which is good for  
one is not necessarily good for another4
  ,but there are certain general rules  
of conduct which apply to all men1 and  
to sum these up and express them in     
words is the business of the            
philosopher4 ,as all men live truth1 in 
degree1 and all men express some truth  
in language1 so to that extent all men  
are philosophers2 but by common assent1 
we give the title only to the men who   
make other men think for themselves4    
,whistler refers to ,velasquez as a     
painter's painter4 ,john ,wesley said1  
,no man is worthy to be called a        
teacher1 unless he be a teacher of      
teachers4 ,the great writer is the one  

who inspires writers4 ,and in this book 
,i will not refer to a man as a         
philosopher unless he has inspired      
philosophers4  ,preachers and priests in
 the employ of a denomination are       
attorneys for the defense4 ,god is not  
found in a theological seminary1 for    
very seldom is the seminary seminal--it 
galvanizes the dead rather than         
vitalizes the germs of thought in the   
living4 ,no man understands theology--it
 is not intended to be understood2 it is
 merely believed4 ,most colleges are    
places where is taught the gentle art of
 sophistication2 and memorizing the     
theories of great men gone passes for   
knowledge4  ,words are fluid and change 
their meaning with the years and        
according to the mind and mood of the   
hearer4 ,a word means all you read into 
it1 and nothing more4 ,the word soph    
once had a high and honorable           
distinction1 but now it is used to point
 a moral1 and the synonym of sophomore  
is soft4  ,originally the sophist was a 

lover of truth2 then he became a lover  
of words that concealed truth1 and the  
chief end of his existence was to       
balance a feather on his nose and keep  
three balls in the air for the          
astonishment and admiration of the      
bystanders4  ,education is something    
else4  ,education is growth1            
development1 life in abundance1         
creation4  ,we grow only through        
exercise4 ,the faculties we use become  
strong1 and those we fail to use are    
taken away from us4  ,this exercise of  
our powers through which growth is      
attained affords the finest             
gratification that mortals know4 ,to    
think1 reason1 weigh1 sift1 decide and  
act--this is life4 ,it means health1    
sanity and length of days4 ,those live  
longest who live most4  ,the end of     
college education to the majority of    
students and parents is to secure a     
degree1 and a degree is valuable only to
 the man who needs it4 ,visiting the    
office of the ,outlook1 a weekly1       

religious newspaper1 ,i noticed that the
 titles1 ,rev41 ,prof1 and ,dr41 and the
 degrees1 ,m4 ,d41 ,d4 ,d41 ,,ll4 ,d41  
,ph4 ,d41 were carefully used by the    
clerks in addressing envelopes and      
wrappers4 ,and ,i said to the manager1  
,why this misuse of time and effort8    
,the ink thus wasted should be sold and 
the proceeds given to the poor6 ,and the
 man replied1 ,to omit these titles and 
degrees would cost us half our          
subscription-list4 ,and so ,i assume    
that man is a calculating animal1 not a 
thinking one4  ,and the point of this   
sermonette is that truth is not         
monopolized by universities and         
colleges2 nor must we expect much from  
those who parade degrees and make       
professions4 ,it is one thing to love   
truth and it is another thing to lust   
after honors4  ,the larger life--the    
life of love1 health1 self-sufficiency1 
usefulness and expanding power--this    
life in abundance is often taught best  
out of the mouths of babes and          

sucklings4 ,it is not esoteric1 nor     
hidden in secret formulas1 nor locked in
 languages old and strange4  ,no one can
 compute how much the bulwarked learned 
ones have blocked the path of wisdom4   
,socrates1 the barefoot philosopher1 did
 more good than all the ,sophists with  
their schools4 ,diogenes1 who lived in a
 tub1 searched in vain for an honest    
man1 owned nothing but a blanket and a  
bowl1 and threw the bowl away when he   
saw a boy drinking out of his hand1 even
 yet makes men think1 and so blesses and
 benefits the race4 ,jesus of ,nazareth1
 with no place to lay his tired head1   
associating with publicans and sinners1 
and choosing his closest companions from
 among ignorant fishermen1 still lives  
in the affections of millions of people1
 a molding force for good untold4       
,friedrich ,froebel1 who first preached 
the propensity to play as a pedagogic   
dynamo1 as the tides of the sea could be
 used to turn the countless wheels of   
trade1 is yet only partially accepted1  

but has influenced every teacher in     
,christendom and stamped his personality
 upon the walls of schoolrooms          
unnumbered4 ,then comes ,richard        
,wagner1 the political outcast1 writing 
from exile the music that serves as a   
mine for much of our modern composing1  
marching down the centuries to the      
solemn chant of his ,pilgrims' ,chorus2 
,william ,morris1 ,oxford graduate and  
uncouth workingman in blouse and        
overalls1 arrested in the streets of    
,london for haranguing crowds on        
,socialism1 let go with a warning1 on   
suspended sentence--canceled only by    
death--making his mark upon the walls of
 every well-furnished house in ,england 
or ,america2 ,jean ,francois ,millet1   
starved out in art-loving ,paris1 his   
pictures refused at the ,salon1 living  
next door to abject want in ,barbizon1  
dubbed the wild man of the woods1 dead  
and turned to dust1 his pictures        
commanding such sums as ,paris never    
before paid2 ,walt ,whitman1 issuing his

 book at his own expense1 publishers    
having refused it1 this book excluded   
from the mails1 as ,wanamaker           
immortalized himself by serving a like  
sentence on ,tolstoy2 ,walt ,whitman1   
riding on top of a ,broadway 'bus all   
day1 happy in the great solitude of     
bustling city streets1 sending his      
barbaric yawp down the ages1 singing    
paeans to those who fail1 chants to     
,death--strong deliverer--and giving    
courage to a fear-stricken world2       
,thoreau1 declining to pay the fee of   
five dollars for his ,harvard diploma   
because it wasn't worth the price1 later
 refusing to pay poll-tax and sent to   
jail1 thus missing1 possibly1 the chance
 of finding that specimen of ,victoria  
regia on ,concord ,river--,thoreau1 most
 virile of all the thinkers of his day1 
inspiring ,emerson1 the one man ,america
 could illest spare2 ,spinoza1 the      
intellectual hermit1 asking nothing1 and
 giving everything--all these worked    
their philosophy up into life and are   

the type of men who jostle the world out
 of its ruts--creators all1 one with    
,deity1 sons of ,god1 saviors of the    
race4         99       99       99      
99       99  ,washington ,irving once   
spoke of ,spain as the ,paradise of     
,jews4 ,but it must be borne in mind    
that he wrote the words in ,granada1    
which was essentially a ,moorish        
province4 ,the ,moors and the ,jews are 
both ,semitic in origin--they trace back
 to a common ancestry4 ,it was the      
,moslem ,moors that welcomed the ,jews  
in both ,venetia and ,spain1 not the    
,christians4 ,the wealth1 energy and    
practical business sense of the ,jews   
recommended them to the grandees of     
,leon1 ,aragon and ,castile4 ,to the    
,jews they committed their exchequer1   
the care of their health1 the setting of
 their jewels1 and the fashioning of    
their finery4 ,in this genial atmosphere
 many of the ,jews grew great in the    
study of science1 literature1 history1  
philosophy and all that makes for mental

 betterment4 ,they increased in numbers1
 in opulence and in culture4 ,their     
thrift and success set them apart as a  
mark for hate and envy4  ,it was a      
period of ominous peace1 of treacherous 
repose4  ,a senseless and fanatical cry 
went up1 that the ,moors--the           
infidels--must be driven from ,spain4   
,the iniquities and inhuman barbarities 
visited upon the ,mohammedan ,moors     
would make a book in itself1 but let it 
go at this3 ,ferdinand and ,isabella    
drove the ,mohammedans from ,spain4 ,in 
the struggle1 the ,jews were            
overlooked--and anyway1 ,christians do  
not repudiate the ,old ,testament1 and  
if the ,jews would accept ,christ1 why1 
they could remain6  ,it looked easy to  
the gracious ,king and ,queen of        
,spain--it was really generous3 two     
religions were unnecessary1 and         
,christianity was beautiful and right4  
,if the ,jews would become ,catholics1  
all barriers would be removed--the ,jews
 would be recognized as citizens and    

every walk of life would be open to     
them4  ,this manifesto to the ,jews is  
still quoted by ,churchmen to show the  
excellence1 tolerance1 patience and love
 of the ,spanish rulers4 ,turn your     
synagogues over to the ,catholics--come 
and be one with us--we will all worship 
the one ,god together--come1 these open 
arms invite--no distinctions--no        
badges--no preferences--no              
prejudices--come6  ,in quoting the edict
 it is not generally stated that the    
,jews were given thirty days to make the
 change4  ,the ,jews who loved their    
faith fled2 the weak succumbed1 or      
pretended to4 ,if a ,jew wished to flee 
the country he could1 but he must leave 
all his property behind4 ,this caused   
many to remain and profess              
,christianity1 only awaiting a time when
 their property could be turned into    
gold or jewels and be borne upon the    
person4 ,this fondness for concrete     
wealth is a race instinct implanted in  
the ,jewish mind by the inbred thought  

that possibly tomorrow he must fly4     
,after attending service at a ,catholic 
,church1 ,jews would go home and in     
secret read the ,talmud and in whispers 
chant the ,psalms of ,david4  ,laws were
 passed making such action a penal      
offense--spies were everywhere4 ,no     
secret can be kept long1 and in the     
,province of ,seville over two thousand 
,jews were hanged or burned in a single 
year4 ,when ,ferdinand and ,isabella    
gave ,torquemada1 ,deza and ,lucio      
orders to make good ,catholics of all   
,jews1 they had not the faintest idea   
what would be the result4 ,every ,jew   
that was hurried to the stake was first 
stripped of his property4  ,no ,jew was 
safe1 especially if he was rich--his    
sincerity or insincerity had really     
little to do in the matter4 ,the prisons
 were full1 the fagots crackled1 the    
streets ran blood1 and all in the name  
of the gentle ,christ4  ,then for a time
 the severity relaxed1 for the horror   
had spent itself4 ,but early in the     

,seventeenth ,century the same edicts   
were again put forth4  ,fortunately1    
priesthood had tried its mailed hand on 
the slow and sluggish ,dutch1 with the  
result that the ,spaniards were driven  
from the ,netherlands4 ,holland was the 
home of freedom4 ,amsterdam became a    
,mecca for the oppressed4 ,the ,jews    
flocked thither1 and among others who1  
in ,sixteen ,hundred ,thirty-one1 landed
 on the quay was a young ,jew by the    
name of ,michael d',espinoza4 ,with him 
was a ,moorish girl that he had rescued 
from the clutch of a ,spanish grandee1  
in whose house she had been kept a      
prisoner4  ,by a happy accident1 this   
beautiful girl of seventeen had escaped 
from her tormentors and was huddling1   
sobbing1 in an alley as the young ,jew  
came hurrying by on his way to the ship 
that was to bear him to freedom4 ,it was
 near day-dawn--there was no time to    
lose--the young man only knew that the  
girl1 like himself1 was in imminent     
peril4 ,a small boat waited near--soon  

they were safely secreted in the hold of
 the ship4 ,before sundown the tide had 
carried the ship to sea1 and ,portugal  
was but a dark line on the horizon4     
,other refugees were on board the boat2 
they came from their hiding-places--and 
the second day out a refugee rabbi      
called a meeting on deck4 ,it was a     
solemn service of thanksgiving and the  
songs of ,zion were sung1 the first time
 for some in many months1 and only      
friends and the great1 sobbing1 salt sea
 listened4  ,the tears of the ,moorish  
girl were now dried--the horror of the  
future had gone with the black memories 
of the past4 ,other women1 not quite so 
poor1 contributed to her wardrobe1 and  
there and then1 after she had been      
accepted into the ,jewish faith1 she and
 ,michael d',espinoza1 aged twenty-two1 
were married4  ,the ship arrived at     
,amsterdam in safety4 ,in a year1 on    
,november ,twenty-fourth1 ,sixteen      
,hundred ,thirty-two1 in a little stone 
house that still stands on the canal    

bank1 was born ,benedict ,spinoza4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,benedict ,spinoza was brought up in the
 faith and culture of his people4       
,beyond his religious training at the   
synagogue1 there was a ,jewish ,high    
,school at ,amsterdam which he attended4
 ,this school might compare very        
favorably with our modern schools1 in   
that it included a certain degree of    
manual training4 ,besides this he had   
received special instruction from       
several learned rabbis4 ,in matters of  
true education1 the ,jews have ever been
 in advance of the ,gentile world--they 
bring their children up to be useful4   
,the father of ,benedict was a maker of 
lenses for spectacles1 and at this trade
 the boy was very early set to work4    
,again and again in the writings of     
,spinoza1 we find the argument that     
every man should have a trade and earn  
his living with his hands1 not by       
writing1 speaking or philosophizing4 ,if
 you can earn a living at your trade1   

you thus make your mind free4  ,this    
early idea of usefulness led to a       
sympathy with another religious body1 of
 which there were quite a number of     
members in ,holland3 the ,mennonites4   
,this sect was founded by ,menno        
,simons1 a ,frieslander1 contemporary of
 ,luther2 only this man swung on further
 from ,catholicism than ,luther and     
declared that a paid priesthood was what
 made all the trouble4 ,religion to him 
was a matter of individual inspiration4 
,when an institution was formed1 built  
on man's sense of relation with his     
,maker1 property purchased1 and paid    
priests employed1 instantly there was a 
pollution of the well of life4 ,it      
became a money-making scheme1 and a     
grand clutch for place and power        
followed3 it really ceased to be        
religion at all1 so long as we define   
religion in its spiritual sense4 ,a     
priest1 said ,menno1 is a man who       
thrives on the sacred relations that    
exist between man and ,god1 and is      

little better than a person who would   
live on the love-emotions of men and    
women4  ,this certainly was bold        
language1 but to be exact1 it was       
persecution that forced the expression4 
,the ,catholics had placed an interdict 
on all services held by ,protestant     
pastors1 and the deprivation proved to  
,menno that paid preaching and costly   
churches and trappings were really not  
necessary at all4 ,man could go to ,god 
without them1 and pray in secret4       
,spirituality is not dependent on either
 church or priest4  ,the ,mennonites in 
,holland escaped theological criticism  
by disclaiming to be a church1 and      
calling their institution a college1 and
 themselves ,collegiants4  ,all the     
,mennonites asked was to be let alone4  
,they were plain1 unpretentious people1 
who worked hard1 lived frugally1 refused
 to make oaths1 to accept civil office1 
or to go to war4 ,they are a variant of 
the impulse that makes ,quakers and all 
those peculiar people known as          

,primitive ,christians1 who mark the    
swinging of the pendulum from pride and 
pretense to simplicity and a life of    
modest usefulness4  ,the sincerity1     
truthfulness and virtue of the          
,mennonites so impressed itself upon    
even the ruthless ,corsican1 that he    
made them exempt from conscription4     
,before ,spinoza was twenty1 he had come
 into acquaintanceship with these plain 
people4 ,his relationship with the      
rabbis and learned men of ,israel had   
given him a culture that the ,mennonites
 did not possess2 but these plain       
people1 by the earnestness of their     
lives1 showed him that the science of   
theology was not a science at all4      
,nobody understands theology3 it is not 
meant to be understood--it is for       
belief4 ,spinoza compared the           
,mennonites1 who confessed they knew    
nothing1 but hoped much1 to the rabbis1 
who pretended they knew all4 ,his praise
 of the ,mennonites1 and his criticisms 
of the growing love for power in        

,judaism1 were carried to the ,jewish   
authorities by some young men who had   
come to him in the guise of learners4   
,moreover1 the report was abroad that he
 was to marry a ,gentile--the daughter  
of ,van den ,ende1 the infidel4  ,on    
order1 he appeared at the synagogue1 and
 defended his position4 ,his ability in 
argument1 his knowledge of ,jewish law1 
his insight into the lessons of history1
 were alarming to the assembled rabbis4 
,the young man was quiet1 gentle1 but   
firm4 ,he expressed the belief that ,god
 might possibly have revealed ,himself  
to other peoples beside the ,jews4      
,then you are not a ,jew6 was the       
answer4  ,yes1 ,i am a ,jew1 and ,i love
 my faith4  ,but it is not all to you8  
,i confess that occasionally ,i have    
found what seems to be truth outside of 
the ,law4  ,the rabbis tore their       
raiment in mingled rage and surprise at 
the young man's temerity4  ,spinoza did 
not withdraw from the ,jewish           
,congregation--he was thrust out4       

,moreover1 a fanatical ,jew1 in the     
warmth of his religious zeal1 attempted 
to kill him4 ,spinoza escaped1 his      
clothing cut through by a dagger-thrust1
 close to the heart4  ,the curse of     
,israel was upon him--his own brothers  
and sisters refused him shelter1 his    
father turned against him1 and again was
 the icy unkindness of kinsmen made     
manifest4 ,the tribe of ,spinoza lives  
in history1 saved from the fell clutch  
of oblivion by the man it denied with an
 oath and pushed in bitterness from its 
heart4 ,spinoza fled to his friends1 the
 ,mennonites1 plain market-gardeners who
 lived a few miles out of the city4     
,spinoza had not meant to leave the     
,jews--the racial instinct was strong in
 him1 and the pride of his people       
colored his character to the last4 ,but 
the attempts to bribe him and coerce him
 into a following of fanatical law1 when
 this law did not appeal to his         
commonsense1 forced him into a position 
that his enemies took for innate        

perversity4 ,when an eagle is hatched in
 a barnyard brood and mounts on soaring 
pinions toward the sun1 it is always    
cursed and vilified because it does not 
remain at home and scratch in the       
compost4 ,its flight skyward is         
construed as proof of its vile nature4  
,how can people who do not think1 and   
can not think1 and therefore have no    
thoughts to express1 sympathize with one
 whose highest joy comes from the       
expression of his thought8  ,deprive a  
thinker of the privilege to think and   
you take from him his life4 ,the joy of 
existence lies in self-expression4 ,what
 if we should order the painter to quit 
his canvas1 the sculptor to lay aside   
his tools1 the farmer to leave the soil8
 ,do these things1 and you do no more   
than you do when you force a thinker to 
follow in the groove that dead men have 
furrowed4 ,the thirst for knowledge must
 be slaked or the soul sickens and slow 
death follows4  ,in ,spinoza's time the 
literature of ,greece and ,rome was     

locked in the ,latin language1 which the
 ,jews were forbidden to acquire4 ,young
 ,spinoza longed to know what ,plato1   
,aristotle1 ,cicero1 ,seneca and ,vergil
 had taught1 but these authors were     
considered anathema by the rabbinical   
councils4 ,spinoza desired to be honest1
 and so asked for a special dispensation
 in his favor1 as he was to be a        
teacher--could he study the ,latin      
language8  ,and the answer was1 ,read   
your ,joshua1 first chapter and eighth  
verse1 ',this book of the law shall not 
depart out of thy mouth1 but thou shalt 
meditate therein day and night4'  ,from 
this time on ,spinoza was more or less  
under the ban1 and rumors of his heresy 
were rife4 ,it is possible1 if it had   
not been for one person1 that the       
growing desire for knowledge1 the       
reaching out for better things1 the     
dissatisfaction with his environment1   
might have passed in safety and the     
restless young rabbi slipped back into  
the conventional ,jew4 ,youth always has

 its periods of unrest--sometimes more1 
sometimes less4  ,spinoza had made the  
acquaintance of ,van den ,ende1 a       
teacher of ,greek and ,latin1 an        
erratic1 argumentative rationalist1 who 
had his say on all topics of the time1  
and fixed his place in history by being 
shot as a revolutionary1 just outside   
the walls of the ,bastile4  ,but at this
 time ,van den ,ende was fairly         
prosperous and ,amsterdam was the freest
 city in ,christendom4  ,van den ,ende  
had a daughter1 ,clara ,maria1 a little 
younger than ,spinoza1 who surely was a 
most superior woman4 ,she was the       
companion of her father in his studies4 
,it speaks well for the father and it   
speaks well for the daughter that they  
were comrades and that his highest      
thought was expressed to her4 ,i can    
conceive of no finer joy coming to a man
 than1 as his hair whitens1 to have a   
daughter who understands him at his     
best1 who enters into his life1         
sympathizes with his ideals1 ministers  

to his mental needs1 who is his         
companion and friend4 ,only a great man 
ever has such a daughter4 ,madame ,de   
,stael1 who delighted in being called   
the daughter of ,necker1 was such a     
woman1 and the splendor of her mind was 
no less her father's glory than was the 
fact that he was the greatest financier 
of his time4  ,clara ,van den ,ende was 
her father's helper and companion1 and  
when he was busied in other tasks she   
took charge of his classes4  ,auerbach  
has written a charming story with ,clara
 ,van den ,ende and ,spinoza as a       
central theme4 ,in the tale is pictured 
with skilful psychology the awakening of
 the sleeping soul of ,spinoza as he was
 introduced from a cheerless home1      
devoid of art and freedom1 into the     
beauties of undraped ,greece and the    
fine atmosphere of a forum where nothing
 human was considered alien4  ,from a   
love for ,vergil1 ,cicero and ,horace1  
to a love for each other1 was a very    
natural sequence4 ,a growing            

indifference for the censure of ,judaism
 was quite a natural result4 ,auerbach  
would have us believe that no man alone 
ever stood out against the revilings of 
kinsmen and the stupidity of sectarians3
 we move in the line of least resistance
 and only a very great passion makes it 
possible for a man calmly to face the   
contumely of an angry world4  ,zangwill1
 in his vivid sketch1 ,the ,maker of    
,lenses1 makes this single love-episode 
in the life of ,spinoza the controlling 
impulse of his life1 probably reasoning 
on the premise that men who mark epochs 
are ever and always1 without exception1 
those with the love nature strongly     
implanted in their hearts4 ,so          
thoroughly does ,zangwill believe in the
 one passion of ,spinoza's life1 that a 
score of years after the chief incident 
of it had transpired1 he pictures the   
philosopher trembling at mention of the 
woman's name1 coughing to conceal his   
agitation and clutching the doorpost for
 support4 ,and this a man who smilingly 

faced a mob that howled for his life1   
and was only moved to philosophize on   
the nature of human intellect when a    
flying stone grazed his cheek6  ,but the
 lady had ambitions--the lens-maker was 
penniless1 and probably always would    
be--his passion was passive--he lacked  
the show and dash that made other women 
jealous4 ,and so ,oldenburg1 a rival    
with love and jewels1 won the heart that
 could not be won by love alone4 ,that  
the lady soon knew she had erred did not
 help her case--,spinoza loved his      
ideal1 and he had thought it was the    
woman4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,follow ,zangwill's stories
 of the ,ghetto and your heart is wrung 
by the injustice1 cruelty and inhumanity
 visited upon the ,jews by the people   
who worship a ,jew as ,god and make     
daily supplications to a ,jewess4  ,but 
read between the lines and you will see 
that ,israel ,zangwill1 child of the    
,ghetto1 knows that the ,peculiar       
,people are peculiar through            

persecution1 and not necessarily so     
through innate nature4 ,zangwill knows  
that no religion is pure except in its  
stage of persecution1 and that ,judaism1
 grown rich and powerful1 would oppress 
and has oppressed4 ,martyr and          
persecutor shift places easily4  ,the   
,jew arrives in a city at night1 and in 
the morning takes down the shutters and 
is doing business4 ,the ,jew winds his  
way into the life of every city and     
becomes at once an integral part of     
it--a part1 yet separate and distinct1  
for his social and religious life is not
 colored by his environment4  ,children 
imitate unconsciously4 ,the golden rule 
is not natural to children3 it has to be
 taught them4 ,they do unto others as   
others have done unto them1 and have no 
question as to right or wrong4 ,we are  
all children1 and have to think hard    
before we are conscious of any feeling  
of the brotherhood of man4 ,as soon as  
the ,jews relaxed in ,amsterdam--got    
their breath1 and felt secure--they did 

unto others as they had been done       
by--they persecuted4  ,a ,jew must be a 
,jew1 and as they had been watched with 
suspicion in ,spain and ,portugal by the
 ,christians1 so now they watched each  
other for heresies4 ,they compelled     
strictest obedience to every form and   
ceremony4 ,to the ,jew the ,law forms   
the firmament above and the earth       
beneath4 ,all is law to him1 and his    
part and work in this life is obedience 
to law4  ,the ,jewish religion is a     
concrete1 unbroken mass of laws4 ,the   
,jew is bounded on the east by law2 on  
the north by law2 on the west by law2 on
 the south by law4 ,there are set rules 
and laws that govern his getting up1 his
 going to bed1 his eating1 drinking1    
sleeping1 and praying4 ,there is no     
phase of human relationship that is not 
covered by the ,mishna and ,gemara4     
,being learned in the ,law means being  
learned in the proper way to kill       
chickens1 to dress ducks1 wear your     
vestments1 go to prayers1 and what to   

say when you meet two ,christians in an 
alley4 ,if a ,jew quarrels with a       
neighbor and goes to his ,rabbi for     
advice1 the learned man gets down his   
,talmud and finds the page4 ,the        
relation of wife and husband1 child and 
parent1 brother and sister1 lover and   
sweetheart1 are covered by law1 fixed1  
immovable4 ,the learned men of ,judah   
are men learned in the ,law1 not learned
 in the science of life1 and            
commonsense4 ,when these learned men    
meet they argue for six days and nights 
together as to interpretations of the   
,law concerning whether it is right to  
make a fire in your cook-stove on the   
,sabbath if a ,christian is starving for
 food on your doorstep1 or what will    
become of you if you eat pork to save   
your life4  ,rational ,jews are those   
who do what they think is right1 but    
,orthodox ,jews are those who do what   
the ,law prescribes4 ,when ,jesus       
plucked the ears of corn on the ,sabbath
 day1 he proved himself a ,rational     

,jew--he set his own opinion higher than
 ,law and thereby made himself an       
outcast4 ,jewish ,law provides curdling 
curses for just such offenses4  ,plato's
 ,republic was a scheme of life         
regulated absolutely by law2 every      
contingency was provided for4 ,and      
,plato's plan was founded on the        
hypothesis that it is the duty of wise  
men to do the thinking and regulate the 
conduct of those who are supposed not to
 be wise enough to think and to act for 
themselves4 ,but ,plato's idea lacked   
the ,thus saith the ,lord1 with which   
,moses and ,aaron enforced their edicts4
 ,so ,plato's ,republic is still on     
paper1 for no set of rules minutely     
regulating conduct has ever been        
enforced except as the ruler made his   
subjects believe he received his        
instructions direct from ,god4  ,yet all
 the ,jewish ,laws are founded with an  
eye to a sanitary and hygienic          
good--they are built on the basis of    
expediency4 ,and that rule of the       

,gemara which provides that if you have 
gravy on the table1 you can not also    
have butter1 without sin1 seems more of 
a move in the direction of economics    
than a matter of ethics4 ,laws are good 
for the people who believe that a blind 
obedience to a good thing is better than
 to work your way alone and find out for
 yourself what is best and right4 ,the  
,jewish ,law is based1 like all         
religious codes1 on the assumption that 
man by nature is vile1 and really       
prefers wrong to right4  ,the thought   
that all men prefer the good1 and think 
at the moment they are doing what is    
best1 no matter what they do1 was first 
sharply and clearly expressed by        
,spinoza4 ,truth1 he said1 could only be
 reached through freedom--a man must    
even have the privilege of thinking     
wrong so long as his actions do not     
jeopardize the life and immediate safety
 of others4  ,for a people whose every  
act is governed by fixed laws there can 
be no progression4 ,mistakes are the    

rungs of the ladder by which we reach   
the skies4 ,the man who allows the dead 
to regulate his life1 and accepts their 
thinking as final1 satisfied to repeat  
what he is taught1 remains forever in   
the lowlands4 ,his wings are leaden4    
,the ,jews--most law-bound and          
priest-ridden of all peoples--are at    
home everywhere because they have no    
home4 ,they mix in the life of every    
nation and remain forever separate and  
apart4 ,they will run with you1 ride    
with you1 trade with you1 but they will 
not eat with you nor pray with you4     
,they build no ,altars to the ,unknown  
,god1 out of courtesy to visitors and   
guests from distant climes4 ,mohammedans
 recognize the divinity of ,jesus1 the  
,buddhists look upon him as one of many 
,christs1 the ,universalist sees good in
 every faith1 but the ,jew regards all  
other religions than his own as         
pestilence4 ,if by chance1 or in the    
line of business1 he finds himself in a 
heathen temple or ,christian ,church1   

his ,gemara orders that he shall present
 himself at his own temple for          
purification4  ,read ,leviticus1        
,numbers and ,deuteronomy1 and you      
behold on every page curses1 revilings1 
threats and bitter scorn for all outside
 the pale4 ,orders by ,jehovah to burn1 
kill and utterly destroy are frequent4  
,and we must remember that every people 
make their god in their own image4 ,a   
man's ,god is himself at his best2 his  
devil is himself at his worst4  ,the    
very expression1 ,the ,chosen ,people1  
would be an insult to every man outside 
the pale1 were it not such a petulant   
and childish boast that its serious     
assumption makes us smile4  ,well does  
,moses ,mendelssohn1 the ,jew1 say3 ,the
 ,ghetto is an arrangement first        
contrived by ,jews for keeping infidels 
out of a sacred precinct4 ,when the     
infidels were strong enough they turned 
the tables and forbade the ,jews to     
leave their ,ghetto except at certain   
hours4 ,for the misery1 poverty and     

squalor of the ,ghetto the ,jew is not  
to blame--if he could1 he would have the
 ,ghetto a place of opulence1 beauty and
 all that makes for the good4 ,every    
undesirable thing he would bestow on the
 outsider4 ,in the twilight days of     
,jewish power1 the ,jew1 with bigotry1  
arrogance and intolerance unsurpassed1  
regulated the infidels and fixed their  
goings and comings as they now do his1  
and he would do it again if he had the  
power4 ,the ,jew never changes--once a  
,jew always a ,jew4  ,this was written  
by a man who was not only a ,jew1 but a 
man4 ,he was a ,jew in pride of race--in
 racial instinct1 but he was great      
enough to know that all men are ,god's  
children1 and that to set up a fixed1   
dogmatic standard regulating every act  
of life has its serious penalties4 ,he  
was a ,jew so big that he knew that the 
cruelty and inhumanity visited upon the 
,jews by ,christians was first taught to
 these ,christians by ,jews--it is all  
in the ,old ,testament4 ,the villainy   

you have taught me ,i will execute4 ,it 
shall go hard1 but ,i will better the   
instruction4  ,the ,christians who had  
persecuted ,jews were really orthodox   
,jews in disguise1 and were actuated    
more by the ,jewish ,law expressed in   
the ,old ,testament1 than by the life of
 ,jesus1 who placed man above the       
,sabbath and taught that the good is    
that which serves4  ,and so ,benedict   
,spinoza1 the ,rabbi1 gentle1 spiritual1
 kind1 heir to the ,jewish faith1       
learned in all the refinements of       
,jewish ,law1 knowing minutely the      
history of the race1 knowing that for   
which the curses of ,judaism were       
reserved1 perceiving with unblinking    
eyes the absurdity and folly of all     
dogmatic belief1 gradually withdrew from
 practising and following ,law1         
preferring his own commonsense4 ,there  
were threats1 then attempts to bribe1   
and again threats and finally           
excommunication and curses so terrible  
that if they were carried out1 a man    

would walk the earth an exile--unknown  
by brothers and sisters1 shunned by the 
mother that gave him birth1 a moral     
leper to his father1 despised1 rejected1
 turned away1 spit upon by every being  
of his kind4  ,and here is the document3
       ,by the sentence of the angels1  
by the decree of the saints1 we         
anathematize1 cut off1 curse1 and       
execrate ,baruch ,spinoza1 in the       
presence of these sacred books with the 
six hundred and thirteen      precepts  
which are written therein1 with the     
anathema wherewith      ,joshua         
anathematized ,jericho2 with the cursing
 wherewith ,elisha      cursed the      
children2 and with all the cursings     
which are written in      the ,book of  
the ,law2 cursed be he by day1 and      
cursed by night2      cursed when he    
lieth down1 and cursed when he riseth   
up2 cursed      when he goeth out1 and  
cursed when he cometh in2 the ,lord     
pardon      him never2 the wrath and    
fury of the ,lord burn upon this man1   

and      bring upon him all the curses  
which are written in the ,book of the   
,law4 ,the ,lord blot out his name under
 heaven4 ,the ,lord set him      apart  
for destruction from all the tribes of  
,israel1 with all the      curses of the
 firmament which are written in the     
,book of the ,law4      ,there shall no 
one speak to him1 no man write to him1  
no man show      him any kindness1 no   
man stay under the same roof with him1  
no man      come nigh him4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,when the
 ,jewish congregation had placed its ban
 upon ,spinoza1 he dropped the ,jewish  
name ,baruch1 for the ,latin            
,benedictus4 ,in this action he tokened 
his frame of mind3 he was going to      
persist in his study of the ,latin      
language1 and his new name stood for    
peace or blessing1 just as the other    
had1 being essentially the same as our  
word benediction4 ,the man's purpose was
 firm4 ,to perfect himself in ,latin1 he
 began a study of ,descartes'           

,meditations1 and this led to proving   
the ,cartesian philosophy by a          
geometrical formula4 ,in his quiet home 
among the simple ,mennonites1 five miles
 from ,amsterdam1 there gradually grew  
up around him a body of students to whom
 he read his writings4 ,the ,cartesian  
philosophy swings around the proposition
 that only through universal doubt can  
we at last reach truth4 ,spinoza soon   
went beyond this and made his plea for  
faith in a universal ,good4  ,five years
 went by--years of work at his lenses1  
helping his friends in their farm work1 
and several hours daily devoted to study
 and writing4 ,spinoza's manuscripts    
were handed around by his pupils4 ,he   
wrote for them1 and in making truth     
plain to them he made it clear to       
himself4 ,the ,jews at ,amsterdam kept  
track of his doings and made charges to 
the ,protestant authorities to the      
effect that ,spinoza was guilty of      
treason1 and his presence a danger to   
the ,state4 ,spies were about1 and their

 presence becoming known to the         
,mennonites1 caused uneasiness4 ,to     
relieve his friends of a possible       
unpleasant situation1 the gentle        
philosopher packed up his scanty effects
 and moved away4 ,he went to the village
 of ,voorburg1 two miles from ,the      
,hague4  ,here he lived for seven years1
 often for six months not going farther 
than three miles from home4 ,he studied1
 worked and wrote1 and his writings were
 sent out to his few friends who        
circulated them among friends of theirs1
 and in time the manuscripts came back  
soiled and dog-eared1 proof that some   
one had read them4 ,persecution binds   
human hearts1 and at this time there was
 a brotherhood of thinkers throughout   
the capitals and ,university towns of   
,europe4 ,spinoza's name became known   
gradually to these--they grew to look   
for his monthly contribution1 and in    
many places when his manuscript arrived 
little bands of earnest students would  
meet1 and the manuscript would be read  

and discussed4 ,the interdict placed on 
free thought made it attractive4        
,spinoza became recognized by the       
esoteric few as one of the world's great
 thinkers1 although the good people with
 whom he lived knew him only as a model 
lodger1 who kept regular hours and made 
little trouble4 ,occasionally visitors  
would come from a distance and remain   
for hours discussing such abstract      
themes as the freedom of the will or the
 nature of the over-soul4 ,and these    
visitors caused the rustic neighbors to 
grow curious1 and we find ,spinoza      
moving into the city and renting a      
modest back room4 ,by a curious chance1 
his landlady1 fifty years before1 had   
been a servant in the household of      
,grotius1 and once had locked that great
 man in a trunk and escorted him1 right 
side up1 across the border into         
,switzerland to escape the              
heresy-hunters who were looking for     
human kindling4 ,this kind landlady1 now
 grown old1 and living largely in the   

past1 saw points of resemblance between 
her philosophic boarder and the great   
,grotius1 and soon waxed boastful to the
 neighbors4 ,spinoza noticed that he was
 being pointed out on the streets4 ,his 
record had followed him4 ,the ,jews     
hated him because he was a renegade2 the
 ,christians hated him because he was a 
,jew1 and both ,catholics and           
,protestants shunned him when they ought
 not1 and greeted him with howls when   
they should have let him alone4  ,he    
again moved his lodgings to the suburbs 
of the city1 where he lived with the    
family of ,van der ,spijck1 a worthy    
,dutch painter who smoked his pipe in   
calm indifference to the ,higher        
,criticism4 ,for their quiet and        
studious lodger ,van der ,spijck and his
 wife had a profound regard4 ,they did  
not understand him1 but they believed in
 him4 ,often he would go to church with 
them and coming home would discuss the  
sermon with them at length4 ,the        
,lutheran pastor who came to call on the

 family invited ,spinoza to join his    
flock1 and they calmly discussed the    
questions of baptism and regeneration by
 faith together2 but genius only        
expresses itself to genius1 and the     
pastor went away mystified4 ,van der    
,spijck did not produce great art1 yet  
his pictures are now in demand because  
he was the kind and loyal friend of     
,spinoza1 and his heart1 not his art1   
fixes his place in history4  ,in his    
sketch1 ,zangwill has certain of his old
 friends1 members of the ,van den ,ende 
family1 hunt out the philosopher in his 
obscure lodgings and pay him a social   
visit4 ,then it was that he turned pale1
 and stammeringly tried to conceal his  
agitation at mention of the name of the 
only woman he had ever loved4  ,the     
image of that one fine flaming up of    
divine passion followed him to the day  
of his death4 ,it was too sacred for him
 to discuss--he avoided women1 kept out 
of society1 and forever in his sad heart
 there burned a shrine to the ideal4    

,and so he lived1 separate and apart4 ,a
 single little room sufficed--the       
work-bench where he made his lenses near
 the window1 and near at hand the table 
covered with manuscript where he wrote4 
,renan says that when he died1 aged     
forty-three1 his passing was like a     
sigh1 he had lived so quietly--so few   
knew him--there were no earthly ties to 
break4  ,the worthy ,van der ,spijcks1  
plain1 honest people1 had invited him to
 go to church with them4 ,he smilingly  
excused himself--he had thoughts he must
 write out ere they escaped4 ,when the  
good man and his wife returned in an    
hour1 their lodger was dead4  ,a tablet 
on the house marks the spot1 and but a  
short distance away in the open square  
sits his form in deathless bronze1      
pensively writing out an idea which we  
can only guess--or is it a last         
love-letter to the woman to whom he gave
 his heart and who pushed from her the  
gift8         99       99       99      
99       99  ,spinoza had courage1 yet  

great gentleness of disposition4 ,his   
habit of mind was conciliatory3 if      
strong opinions were expressed in his   
presence concerning some person or      
thing1 he usually found some good to say
 of the person or an excuse for the     
thing4 ,he was one of the most unselfish
 men in history--money was nothing to   
him1 save as it might minister to his   
very few immediate wants or the needs of
 others4  ,he smilingly refused a       
pension offered him by a ,french        
courtier if he would but dedicate a book
 to the ,king2 and a legacy left him by 
an admiring student1 ,simon de ,vries1  
was declined for the reason that it was 
too much and he did not wish the care of
 it4 ,later1 he compromised with the    
heirs by accepting an income of one     
hundred and twenty-five dollars a year4 
,how unreasonable1 he exclaimed1 they   
want me to accept five hundred florins a
 year--,i told them ,i would take three 
hundred1 but ,i will not be burdened by 
a stiver more4 ,if he was financially   

free from the necessity of earning his  
living at his trade1 he feared the      
quality of his thought might be diluted4
 ,you can not think intently and        
intensely all of the time4 ,those who   
try it never are able to dive deep nor  
soar high4444 ,good digestion demands a 
certain amount of coarse food--refined  
and condensed aliment alone kills4 ,man 
should work and busy himself with the   
commonplace1 rest himself for his       
flight1 and when the moment of          
transfiguration comes1 make the best of 
it4  ,all he asked was to be given the  
privilege to work and to think4 ,as for 
expressing his thoughts1 he made no     
public addresses and during his life    
only one of his books was printed4 ,this
 was the ,tractatus                     
,theologico-,politicus1 which mentioned 
,hamburg on the title page1 but with the
 author's name wisely omitted4 ,trite   
enough now are the propositions laid    
down--that ,god is everywhere and that  
man is brother to the tree1 the rock1   

the flower4 ,emerson states the case in 
his ,over-,soul and ,spiritual ,laws in 
the true1 calm ,spinozistic style--as if
 the gentle ,jew had come back to earth 
and dictated his thought1 refined1      
polished and smooth as one of his own   
little lenses1 to the man of ,concord4  
,benedictus ,concordia1 blessing and    
peace be with thee6  ,but the lynx-eyed 
censors soon discovered this single1    
solitary book of ,spinoza's1 and        
although they failed to locate the      
author1 ,spinoza had the satisfaction of
 seeing the work placed on the ,index   
and a general interdict issued against  
it by ,christendom and ,judea as well4  
,it was really of some importance4 ,it  
was so thoroughly in demand that it     
still circulated with false title pages4
 ,in the ,lenox ,library1 ,new ,york1 is
 a copy of the first edition1 finely    
bound1 and lettered thus3 ,a ,treatise  
on the ,sailing of ,ships against the   
,wind1 which shows the straits          
booksellers were put to in evading the  

censors1 and also reveals a touch of wit
 that doubtless was appreciated by the  
,elect4  ,his modesty1 patience1        
kindness and freedom from all petty whim
 and prejudice set ,spinoza apart as a  
marked man4 ,withal he was eminently    
religious1 and the reference to him by  
,novalis as the ,god-intoxicated man    
seems especially applicable to one who  
saw ,god in everything4  ,renan said at 
the dedication of ,the ,hague monument  
to ,spinoza1 ,since the days of         
,epictetus and ,marcus ,aurelius we have
 not seen a life so profoundly filled   
with the sentiment of the divine4  ,when
 walking along the streets of ,the      
,hague and coarse voices called after   
him in guttural1 ,kill the renegade6 he 
said calmly1 ,we must remember that     
these men are expressing the essence of 
their being1 just as ,i express the     
essence of mine4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,spinoza taught   
that the love of ,god is the supreme    
good2 that virtue is its own reward1 and

 folly its own punishment2 and that     
every one ought to love his neighbor and
 obey the civil powers4  ,he made no    
enemies except by his opinions4 ,he was 
infinitely patient1 sweet in temper--had
 respect for all religions1 and never   
offended by parading his heresies in the
 faces of others4  ,nothing but the     
kicks of scorn and the contumely that   
came to ,spinoza could possibly have    
freed him to the extent he was free from
 ,judaistic bonds4  ,he had disciples   
who called him ,master1 and who taught  
him nothing but patience in answering   
their difficulties4  ,one is amazed at  
the hunger of the mind at the time of   
,spinoza4 ,men seemed to think1 and dare
 to grasp for ,new ,thought to a        
marvelous extent4  ,spinoza says that   
evil and good have no objective reality1
 but are merely relative to our         
feelings1 and that evil in particular is
 nothing positive1 but a privation only1
 or non-existence4  ,spinoza says that  
love consecrates every indifferent      

particular connected with the object of 
affection4 ,good is that which we       
certainly know to be useful to us4 ,evil
 is that which we certainly know stands 
in the way of our command of good4      
,good is that which helps4 ,bad is that 
which hinders our self-maintenance and  
active powers4  ,a passage from ,spinoza
 which well reveals his habit of thought
 and which placed the censors on his    
track runs as follows3       ,the       
ultimate design of the ,state is not to 
dominate men1 to      restrain them by  
fear1 to make them subject to the will  
of others1      but1 on the contrary1 to
 permit every one1 as far as possible1  
to      live in security4 ,that is to   
say1 to preserve intact the natural     
right which is his1 to live without     
being harmed himself or doing      harm 
to others4 ,no1 ,i say1 the design of   
the ,state is not to      transform men 
into animals or automata from reasonable
 beings2 its      design is to arrange  
matters that citizens may develop their 

minds      and bodies in security1 and  
to make free use of their reason4 ,the  
true design of the ,state1 then1 is     
liberty4 ,whoever would respect      the
 rights of the sovereign ought never to 
act in opposition to his      decrees2  
but each has a right to think as he     
pleases and to say      what he thinks1 
provided that he limits himself to      
speaking and to      teaching in the    
name of pure reason1 and that he does   
not attempt1      in his private        
capacity1 to introduce innovations into 
the ,state4      ,for example1 a citizen
 demonstrates that a certain law is     
repugnant      to sound reason1 and     
believing this1 he thinks it ought to be
      abrogated4 ,if he submits his     
opinion to the judgment of the          
sovereign1 to which alone it belongs to 
establish and to abolish      laws1 and 
if1 in the meantime1 he does nothing    
contrary to law1 he      certainly      
deserves well of the ,state as being a  
good citizen4       ,let us admit that  

it is possible to stifle liberty of men 
and to      impose on them a yoke1 to   
the point that they dare not even       
murmur1 however feebly1 without the     
consent of the sovereign3      never1 it
 is certain1 can any one hinder them    
from thinking      according to their   
own free will4 ,what follows hence8 ,it 
is that      men will think one way and 
speak another2 that1 consequently1 good 
faith1 so essential a virtue to a       
,state1 becomes corrupted2 that         
adulation1 so detestable1 and perfidy1  
shall be held in honor1      bringing in
 their train a decadence of all good and
 sound      habitudes4 ,what can be more
 fatal to a ,state than to exile1 as    
malcontents1 honest citizens1 simply    
because they do not hold the            
opinion of the multitude1 and because   
they are ignorant of the art      of    
dissembling6 ,what can be more fatal to 
a ,state than to treat as      enemies  
and to put to death men who have        
committed no other crime      than that 

of thinking independently6 ,behold1     
then1 the scaffold1      the dread of   
the bad man1 which now becomes the      
glorious theater      where tolerance   
and virtue blaze forth in all their     
splendor1 and      covers publicly with 
opprobrium the sovereign majesty6       
,assuredly1      there is but one thing 
which that spectacle can teach us1 and  
that      is to imitate these noble     
martyrs1 or1 if we fear death1 to become
      the abject flatterers of the      
powerful4 ,nothing hence can be so      
perilous as to relegate and submit to   
divine right things which are           
purely speculative1 and to impose laws  
upon opinions which are1 or      at     
least ought to be1 subject to discussion
 among men4 ,if the right      of the   
,state were limited to repressing acts1 
and speech were      allowed impunity1  
controversies would not turn so often   
into      seditions4     ,,auguste      
,,comte        ,in the name of the ,past
 and of the ,future1 the servants of    

,humanity--both its philosophical and   
its practical servants--come            
forward to claim as their due the       
general direction of the world4         
,their object is to constitute at length
 a real ,providence in all              
departments--moral1 intellectual and    
material4                               
--,auguste ,comte  ,illustration3       
,,auguste ,,comte   ,a little city girl 
asked of her country cousin1 when honey 
was the topic up for discussion1 ,does  
your papa keep a bee8  ,let the         
statement go unchallenged1 that a single
 bee has neither the disposition nor the
 ability to make honey4  ,bees          
accomplish nothing save as they work    
together1 and neither do men4  ,great   
men come in groups4  ,six men1 three    
living at the village of ,concord1      
,massachusetts1 and three at ,cambridge1
 fifteen miles away1 supplied ,america  
really all her literature1 until        
,indiana suddenly loomed large on the   
horizon1 and assumed the center of the  

stage1 like the spirit of the ,brocken4 
,five men made up the ,barbizon school  
of painting1 which has influenced the   
entire art education of the world4 ,and 
that those who have been influenced and 
helped most1 deny their redeemer with an
 oath1 is a natural phenomenon          
psychologists look for and fully        
understand4  ,greece had a group of     
seven thinkers1 in the time of          
,pericles1 who made the name and fame of
 the city deathless4  ,rome had a       
similar group in the time of ,augustus2 
then the world went to sleep1 and       
although there were individuals1 now and
 then1 of great talent1 their lights    
went out in darkness1 for it takes bulk 
to make a conflagration4  ,florence had 
her group of thinkers and doers when    
,michelangelo and ,leonardo lived only a
 few miles apart1 but never met4 ,yet   
each man spurred the other on to do and 
dare1 until an impetus was reached that 
sent the names of both down the         
centuries4  ,boswell gives us a group of

 a dozen men who made each other        
possible--often helped by hate and      
strengthened by scorn4  ,the ,mutual    
,admiration ,society does not live in   
piping times of peace1 where glowing    
good-will strews violets2 often the     
sessions of this interesting aggregation
 are stormy and acrimonious1 but one    
thing holds--the man who arises at this 
board must have something to say4       
,strong men1 matched by destiny1 set    
each other a pace4 ,criticism is full   
and free4 ,the most interesting and the 
most successful social experiment in    
,america owed its lease of life largely 
to its scheme of ,public ,criticism1 a  
plan society at large will adopt when it
 puts off swaddling-clothes4 ,public    
,criticism is a diversion of gossip into
 a scientific channel4 ,it is a plan of 
healthful1 hygienic1 social plumbing4   
,england produced one group of thinkers 
that changed the complexion of the      
theological belief of                   
,christendom--,darwin1 ,spencer1        

,wallace1 ,huxley and ,mill4 ,but this  
group built on the ,french philosophers1
 who were taught antithetically by the  
decaying and crumbling aristocracy of   
,france4 ,rousseau and ,voltaire loved  
each other and helped each other1 as the
 proud ,leonardo helped the humble and  
no less proud peasant1 ,michelangelo--by
 absent treatment4  ,victor ,hugo says  
that when the skulls of ,voltaire and   
,rousseau were taken in a sack from the 
,pantheon and tumbled into a common     
grave1 a spark of recognition was       
emitted that the gravedigger did not    
see4  ,voltaire was patronized by       
,frederick the ,great1 who1 though a    
married man1 lived a bachelor life and  
forbade women his court1 and protected  
,kant with the bulging forehead and     
independent ways4 ,kant lived among a   
group of thinkers he never saw1 but     
reached out and touched finger-tips with
 them over the miles that his feet never
 traversed4  ,to ,kant are we indebted  
for ,turgot1 that practical and         

farseeing man of affairs told of in     
matchless phrase in ,thomas ,watson's   
,story of ,france1 the best book ever   
written in ,america1 with possibly a few
 exceptions4 ,condorcet kept step with  
him1 and ,auguste ,comte calls          
,condorcet his spiritual stepfather1 and
 a wit of the time here said1 ,then     
,turgot is your uncle2 and ,comte       
replied1 ,i am proud of the honor1 for  
if ,turgot is my uncle1 then indeed am  
,i of royal blood4  ,auguste ,comte is  
the one bright particular star amid that
 milky way of riotous thinkers which    
followed close upon the destruction of  
the ,french ,monarchy4  ,when ,napoleon 
visited the grave of ,rousseau1 he mused
 in silence and then said1 ,perhaps it  
might have been as well if this man had 
never lived4  ,and ,marshal ,ney1       
standing near1 said1 ,it reveals small  
gratitude for ,napoleon ,bonaparte to   
say so4 ,napoleon smiled and answered1  
,possibly the world would be as well off
 if neither of us had ever lived4       

,auguste ,comte thought that ,napoleon  
was just as necessary in the social     
evolution as ,rousseau1 and that both   
were needed--and he himself was needed  
to make the matter plain in print4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,auguste ,comte was born at ,montpelier1
 ,france1 in ,seventeen ,hundred        
,ninety-eight4 ,his father was receiver 
of taxes1 an office that carried with it
 much leisure and a fair income4 ,men of
 leisure seldom have time to think--if  
you want a thing done it is safest and  
best not to pick a publican4 ,only busy 
men have time to do things4 ,the men who
 have good incomes and work little are  
envied only by those with a mental      
impediment4  ,the boy ,auguste owed     
little to his parents for his peculiar  
evolution1 save as his father taught him
 by antithesis3 the children of         
drunkards make temperance fanatics1 and 
shiftless fathers sometimes have sons   
who are great financiers4  ,when nine   
years of age1 the passion to know and to

 become was upon ,auguste ,comte4 ,he   
was small in stature1 insignificant in  
appearance1 and had a great appetite for
 facts4 ,comte is a fine refutation of  
the maxim that infant prodigies fall    
victims to arrested development4  ,at   
twelve years of age he was filled with  
the idea that the social order was all  
wrong4 ,to the utter astonishment of his
 parents and tutors1 he argued that the 
world could not be bettered until       
mankind was taught the lesson that      
history1 languages1 theology and polite 
etiquette were not learning at all2 and 
as long as educated men centered on     
these things1 there was no hope for the 
race4  ,the birch was brought in to     
disannex the boy from his foolishness1  
but this only seemed to make him cling  
the closer to what he was pleased to    
call his convictions4  ,he read books   
that wearied the brains of grown-ups1   
and took a hearty interest in the       
abstruse1 the obscure and the complex4  
,at thirteen1 that peculiar time when   

the young turn to faith1 this perverse  
rareripe was so filled with doubt that  
it ran over and he stood in the slop4   
,he offered to publicly debate the      
question of ,freewill with the local    
cure2 and on several occasions stood up 
in meeting and contradicted the         
preacher4  ,his parents1 thinking to    
divert his mind from abstractions to    
useful effort1 sent him to the          
,polytechnic ,school at ,paris1 that    
excellent institution founded by        
,napoleon1 which served ,america most   
nobly as a model for the ,boston ,school
 of ,technology1 only the ,french       
,polytechnique was purely a government  
institution--a sample of the ,twentieth 
,century sent for the benefit of the    
,nineteenth4  ,but institutions are     
never much beyond the people--they can  
not be1 for the people dilute everything
 until it is palatable4 ,laws that do   
not embody public opinion can never be  
enforced4 ,no man who expresses himself 
is really much ahead of his time--if he 

is1 the times snuff him out1 and        
quickly4  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred        
,fourteen1 the ,polytechnic ,school was 
well saturated with the priestly idea of
 education1 and the attempt was made to 
produce an alumni of cultured men1      
rather than a race of useful ones4      
,revolt was rife in the ranks of the    
students4 ,it is still debatable whether
 revolution and riot in colleges are    
actuated by a passion for truth or a    
love of excitement4 ,anyway1 the ,techs 
laid deep places to the effect that when
 a certain professor appeared at chapel1
 a unique reception would be in store   
for him4  ,he appeared1 and a fusillade 
of books1 rulers and ink-wells shot at  
his learned head from every quarter of  
the room4 ,other professors appeared and
 sought to restore order4 ,riot         
followed--seats were torn up1 windows   
broken1 and there was much loud talk and
 gesticulation peculiarly ,gallic4  ,it 
was ,ninety-three done in little4       
,instead of expelling the delinquents1  

the ,national ,assembly took the matter 
in hand and simply voted to close the   
school4  ,auguste ,comte went home a    
hero1 proud as a ,heidelberg student1   
with a sweeping scar on his chin and the
 end of his nose gone4 ,i have dealt the
 ,old ,education its deathblow1 he      
solemnly said1 mistaking a cane-rush for
 a revolution4  ,against the direct     
command of his parents1 he went back to 
,paris4 ,he had now reached the mature  
age of eighteen4 ,he resolved to write  
out truth as it occurred to him1 and    
incidentally he would gain a livelihood 
by teaching mathematics4  ,at ,paris1   
the mental audacity of the youth won him
 recognition2 he picked up a precarious 
living1 and was a frequenter at         
scientific lectures and discussions1 and
 in gatherings where great themes were  
up for debate1 he was always present4   
,benjamin ,franklin was his ideal4 ,in  
his notebook he wrote this3 ,franklin at
 twenty-five resolved he would become   
great and wise4 ,i now vow the same at  

twenty4 ,he had five years the start6   
,franklin1 calm1 healthy1 judicial1     
wise--the greatest man ,america has     
produced--worked his philosophy up into 
life4 ,he did not think much beyond his 
ability to perform4 ,to him1 to think   
was to do4 ,and he did things that to   
many men were miracles4  ,comte once    
said1 ,i would have followed the        
venerable ,benjamin ,franklin through   
the street1 and kissed the hem of the   
homespun overcoat1 made by ,deborah4    
,these men were very unlike4 ,one was   
big1 gentle1 calm and kind2 the other   
was small1 dyspeptic1 excitable and full
 of challenge4 ,yet the little man had  
times of insight and abstraction1 when  
he tracked reasons further than the big1
 practical man could have followed them4
  ,franklin's habit of life--the        
semi-ascetic quality of getting your    
gratification by doing without          
things--especially pleased ,comte4 ,he  
lived in a garret on two meals a day1   
and was happy in the thought that he    

could endure and yet think and study4   
,the old monastic impulse was upon him1 
minus the religious features--or stay6  
why may not science become a religion8  
,and surely science can become dogmatic1
 and even tyrannically build a hierarchy
 on a hypothesis no less than theology4 
,a friend1 pitying young ,comte's hard  
lot1 not knowing its sweet recompense1  
got him a position as tutor in the      
household of a nobleman2 like unto the  
kind man who caught the sea-gulls       
roosting on an iceberg1 and in pity1    
transferred them to the warm delights of
 a compost-pile in his barnyard4  ,comte
 held the place for three weeks and then
 resigned4 ,he went back to the garret  
and sweet liberty--having had his taste 
of luxury1 but miserable in it          
all--wondering how a gavotte or a minuet
 could make a man forget that he was    
living in a city where thirty thousand  
human beings were constantly only one   
meal beyond the sniff of starvation4    
,at this time ,comte came into close    

relationship with a man who was to have 
a very great influence in his life--this
 was ,count ,henri of ,saint-,simon1    
usually spoken of as ,saint-,simon4     
,saint-,simon was rich1 gently proud1   
and fondly patronizing4 ,he was a sort  
of scientific ,maecenas--and be it known
 that ,maecenas was a poet and          
philosopher of worth1 and one ,horace   
was his pupil4  ,saint-,simon was an    
excellent and learned man who wrote1    
lectured and taught on philosophic      
themes4 ,he had a garden-school1 modeled
 in degree after that of ,plato4        
,saint-,simon became much interested in 
young ,comte1 invited him to his        
classes1 supplied him books1 clothing1  
and tickets to the opera4 ,part of the  
time ,comte lived under ,saint-,simon's 
roof1 and did translating and copying in
 partial payment for his meal-ticket4   
,the teacher and the pupil had a fine   
affection for each other4 ,what ,comte  
needed1 he took from ,saint-,simon as if
 it were his own4  ,in writing to       

friends at this time1 ,comte praises    
,saint-,simon as the greatest man who   
ever lived--a model of patience1        
generosity1 learning and love--my       
spiritual father6 ,there was fifty      
years' difference in their ages1 but    
they studied1 read and rambled the realm
 of books together1 with mutual pleasure
 and profit4  ,the central idea of the  
,positive ,philosophy is that of the    
three stages through which man passes in
 his evolution4 ,this was gotten from   
,saint-,simon1 and together they worked 
out much of the thought that ,comte     
afterward carried further and           
incorporated in his book4  ,but about   
this time1 ,saint-,simon1 in one of his 
lectures1 afterward printed1 made use of
 some of the thoughts that ,comte had   
expressed1 as if they were his own--and 
possibly they were4 ,there is no        
copyright on an idea1 no caveat can be  
filed on feeling1 and at the last there 
is no such thing as originality1 except 
as a matter of form4  ,young ,comte now 

proved his humanity by accusing his     
teacher of stealing his radium4 ,a      
quarrel followed1 in which ,comte was so
 violent that ,saint-,simon had to put  
the youth out of his house4  ,the       
wrangles of ,grub ,street would fill    
volumes3 both sides are always right1 or
 wrong--it matters little1 and is simply
 a point of view4 ,but the rancor of it 
all1 if seen from heaven1 must serve    
finely to dispel the monotony of the    
place--a panacea for paradisiacal ennui4
  ,from lavish praise1 ,comte swung over
 to words of bitterness and accusation4 
,having sat at the man's table and      
partaken of his hospitality for several 
years1 he was now guilty of the         
unpardonable offense of ridiculing and  
berating him4  ,he speaks of the ,saint 
as a depraved quack1 and says that the  
time he spent with him was worse than   
wasted4 ,if ,saint-,simon was the rogue 
and pretender that ,comte avers1 it is  
no certificate of ,comte's insight that 
it took him four years to find it out4  

99       99       99       99       99  
,in ,eighteen ,hundred ,twenty-five     
,comte married4 ,the ceremony was       
performed civilly1 on a sudden impulse  
of what ,schopenhauer would call the    
genius of the genus4 ,the lady was      
young1 agreeable2 and having no opinions
 of her own1 was quite willing to accept
 his4 ,comte congratulated himself that 
here was virgin soil1 and he laid the   
flattering unction to his soul that he  
could mold the lady's mind to match his 
own4 ,she would be his helpmeet4 ,comte 
had not read ,ouida1 who once wrote that
 when ,god said1 ,i will make a helpmeet
 for him1 ,he was speaking ironically4  
,comte had associated but very little   
with women--he had theories about them4 
,small men1 with midget minds1 know     
femininity much better than do the great
 ones4 ,traveling salesmen1 with        
checkered vests1 gauge women as ,herbert
 ,spencer never could4  ,comte's wife   
was pretty and she was astute--as most  
pretty women are4 ,john ,fiske1 in his  

lecture on ,communal ,life1 says that   
astute persons add nothing of value to  
the community in which they live--their 
mission being to be the admired glass of
 fashion for the non-cogitabund4 ,the   
value of astuteness is that it protects 
us from the astute4  ,samuel ,johnson   
and his wife had their first quarrel on 
the way from the church1 and ,auguste   
,comte and his wife tiffed going down   
the steps from the notary's4 ,comte had 
no use for ecclesiastical forms1 and the
 lady agreed with him until after the   
notary had earned his fee4 ,then she    
suddenly had qualms1 like those peculiar
 ladies told of by ,robert ,louis       
,stevenson1 who turn the ,madonna's face
 to the wall4  ,the couple went to      
,montpelier on their wedding-tour1 to   
visit ,comte's parents4 ,the new wife   
agreed with the old folks on but one    
point--the marriage should be solemnized
 by a priest4 ,having won them on this  
point1 they stood a solid phalanx       
against the husband2 but the lady took  

exceptions to ,montpelier on all other  
grounds--she hated it thoroughly and    
said so4  ,instead of molding her to his
 liking1 ,comte was being kneaded into  
animal crackers for her amusement4      
,then we find him writing to a friend1  
confessing that his hopes were ashes2   
but in his misery he grows philosophical
 and says1 ,it is all good1 for now ,i  
am driven back to my work1 and from now 
on my life is dedicated to science4  ,no
 doubt the lady was as much disappointed
 in the venture as was the husband1 but 
he1 being literary1 eased his grief by  
working it up into art1 while her side  
of the story lies buried deep in silence
 glum4  ,in choosing the names of       
philosophers for this series1 no thought
 was given in the selection beyond the  
achievements of the men4 ,but it now    
comes to me with a slight surprise that 
seven out of the twelve were unmarried1 
and probably it would have been as      
well--certainly for the wives--if the   
other five had remained bachelors1 too4 

,xantippe would have been the gainer1   
even if ,socrates did miss his          
discipline4  ,to center on science and  
devote one's thought to philosophy      
produces a being more or less deformed4 
,there is great danger in               
specialization3 ,nature sacrifices the  
man in order to get the thing done4     
,abstract thought unfits one for        
domestic life2 for1 to a degree1 it     
separates a man from his kind4  ,the    
proper advice to a woman about to marry 
a philosopher would be1 ,don't6         
99       99       99       99       99  
,the advantage of a little actual       
hardship in one's life is that it makes 
existence real and not merely literary4 
,comte was inclined to thrive on        
martyrdom4 ,his restless1 eager mind    
invented troubles1 if there were no real
 ones1 but he was wise enough to know   
this1 as he once said3 ,the trials of   
life are all of one size--imaginary     
pains are as bad as real ones1 and men  
who have no actual troubles usually     

conjure forth a few4 ,thus far1 happily1
 ,i am not reduced to this strait4  ,we 
thus see that the true essence of       
philosophy was there4 ,comte got a      
gratification by dissecting1 analyzing  
and classifying his emotions4 ,all was  
grist that came to his mill4  ,when he  
was twenty-eight the ,positive          
,philosophy had assumed such proportions
 in his mind that he announced a course 
of twelve lectures on the subject4  ,he 
was jealous of his discoveries1 and was 
intent on getting all the credit that   
was due him4 ,money he cared little for2
 power and reputation to him were the   
only gods worth appeasing4 ,the thought 
of domestic joy was forever behind1 but 
philosophy came as a solace4 ,a         
prospectus was sent out and tickets were
 issued4 ,the landlady where he boarded 
offered her parlor and her boarder1     
second floor back1 for the benefit of   
science4 ,several zealous denizens of   
the ,latin ,quarter made a canvass1 and 
enough tickets were sold so that the    

philosopher felt that at last the world 
was really at his feet4  ,when the      
afternoon for the first lecture arrived1
 no carriages blocked the street1 and as
 only about half of those who had       
purchased tickets appeared1 the         
difficulties of the landlady and her    
nervous boarder were much lessened4     
,there was one man at this first lecture
 who was profoundly impressed1 and if we
 had his testimony1 and none other1 we  
might well restrain our smiles4 ,that   
man was ,alexander von ,humboldt4 ,in   
various passages ,humboldt does ,comte  
the honor of quoting from him1 and in   
one instance says1 ,he has summed up    
certain phases of truth better than they
 have ever been expressed before4       
,little did the landlady guess that her 
crusty1 crabbed boarder was firing a    
shot that would be heard 'round the     
world1 and surely the gendarme on that  
particular beat never heard it--so small
 and commonplace are the beginnings of  
great things6  ,comte was so saturated  

with this theme--so immersed in it--that
 it consumed him like a fever4 ,three   
lectures were given1 but at the third1  
without warning1 the man's nerves       
snapped--he stopped1 sat down1 and the  
audience filed out perplexed1 thinking  
they had merely seen an exhibition of   
one of the eccentricities of genius4    
,the philosopher's mind was a blank1 and
 kind friends sent him away to a        
hospital4  ,it was two years before he  
regained his reason4 ,the enforced rest 
did him good4 ,nervous ,prostration is  
heroic treatment on the part of ,nature4
 ,it is an intent to do for the man what
 he will never do for himself4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,unkind critics1 hotly intent on        
refuting the ,positive ,philosophy1     
seized upon the fact of ,comte's mental 
trouble and made much of it4 ,look you6 
said they1 the man is insane6  ,this is 
convenient1 but not judicial4 ,comte's  
philosophy stands or falls on its own   
merits1 and what the author did before1 

after1 or during the writing of his     
theses matters not4 ,madmen are not mad 
all the time1 and the fact that ,sir    
,isaac ,newton was for a time unbalanced
 does not lessen our regard for the     
,principia1 nor consign to limbo the law
 of gravitation4 ,ruskin's work is not  
the less thought of because the man had 
his pathetic spells of indecision4      
,martin ,luther had visions of devils   
before he saw the truth1 and ,emerson's 
love for ,longfellow need not be        
disparaged because he looked down on his
 still1 white face and said1 ,a dear    
gentle soul1 but ,i really can not      
remember his name4  ,men write on       
physiology1 and then die1 but this does 
not disprove the truth they expressed1  
but failed1 possibly1 to fully live4    
,the great man always thinks further    
than he can travel--even the rest of us 
can do that4 ,we can think ,chicago in a
 second1 but to go there takes time1    
strength and money4  ,when ,comte's     
mental trouble was at its height1 and   

two men were required to care for him1  
,lamennais persuaded his wife to have   
their marriage solemnized by the        
,church1 and this was done4 ,this       
performance was such a violation of     
sanctity and decency that in after-years
 ,comte could not believe it was true1  
until he consulted the church records4  
,they might as well have had me         
confirmed1 said ,comte1 grimly4 ,and we 
can well guess that the action did not  
increase his regard for either his wife 
or the ,church4 ,the trick seems quite  
on a par with that of the astute colored
 gentleman who anxiously asks for       
love-powders at the corner drugstore2 or
 the good wives who purchase harmless   
potions from red-dyed rogues to place in
 the husband's coffee to cure him of the
 liquor habit4  ,however1 the incident  
gives a clew to the mental processes of 
,madame ,comte--she would accomplish by 
trickery what she had failed to do by   
moral suasion1 and this in the name of  
religion6  ,two years of enforced rest1 

and the glowing mind of the philosopher 
awoke with a start4 ,he rubbed his eyes 
after his ,rip-,van-,winkle sleep1 and  
called for his manuscripts--he must     
prepare for the fourth lecture6  ,the   
rest of the course was given1 and in    
,eighteen ,hundred ,thirty the first    
volume of ,positive ,philosophy was     
issued4  ,the sixth and last volume     
appeared in ,eighteen ,hundred          
,forty-two--twelve years of intense     
application and ceaseless work4 ,this   
was the happiest time of ,comte's life2 
he had the whole scheme in his head from
 the start1 but he now saw it gradually 
taking form1 and it was meeting with    
appreciation from a few earnest         
thinkers1 at least4 ,his services were  
in demand for occasional lectures on    
scientific subjects4 ,in astronomy1     
especially1 he excelled1 and on this    
theme he was able to please a popular   
assembly4  ,the ,polytechnic ,school had
 now grown to large proportions1 and the
 institution that ,comte had helped to  

slide into dissolution now called him   
back to serve as examiner and professor4
  ,the constant misunderstandings with  
his wife had increased to such a point  
that both felt a separation desirable4  
,married people do not separate on      
slight excuse--they go because they     
must4 ,that ,comte thought much more of 
the lady when they were several hundred 
miles apart than when they were         
together1 there is no doubt4 ,he wrote  
to her at regular intervals1 one-half of
 his income was religiously sent to her1
 and he practised the most painstaking  
economy in order that he might feel that
 she was provided for4  ,one letter1    
especially1 to his wife reveals a side  
of ,comte's nature that shows he had the
 instinct of a true teacher4 ,he says1  
,i hardly dare disclose the sweet and   
softened feeling that comes over me when
 ,i find a scholar whose heart is       
thoroughly in his work4  ,the ,positive 
,philosophy was taken up by ,john       
,stuart ,mill1 who wrote a fine essay on

 it4 ,it was ,mill who introduced the   
work to ,harriet ,martineau4 ,mr4 and   
,mrs4 ,mill had intended to translate   
and condense the philosophy of ,comte   
for ,english readers1 but when ,miss    
,martineau expressed her intention of   
attempting the task1 they relinquished  
the idea1 but backed her up in her      
efforts4  ,miss ,martineau condensed the
 six volumes into two1 and what is most 
strange1 ,comte thought so well of the  
work that he wrote a glowing            
acknowledgment of it4  ,the ,martineaus 
were of good old ,huguenot stock1 and   
the ,french language came easy to       
,harriet4 ,for the plain people of      
,france she had a profound regard1 and  
being sort of a revolutionary by        
prenatal instincts1 ,comte's work from  
the start appealed to her4 ,james       
,martineau had such a bristling         
personality--being very much like his   
sister ,harriet--that when this sister  
wrote a review of a volume of his       
sermons1 showing the fatuity and        

foolishness of the reasoning1 and       
calling attention to much bad grammar1  
the good man cut her off with a         
shilling--which he will have to borrow1 
said ,harriet4  ,james hugged the idea  
to his death that his sister had        
insulted his genius--,but ,i forgive    
her1 he said1 which remark proves that  
he hadn't1 for if he had1 he would not  
have thought to mention the matter4     
,james ,martineau was a great man1 but  
if he had been just a little greater he 
would have taken a profound pride in a  
sister who was so sharp a shooter that  
she could puncture his balloon4 ,james  
,martineau was a theologian2 ,harriet   
was a ,positivist4 ,but ,positivity had 
a lure for him1 and so there is a long  
review1 penned largely with aqua fortis1
 on ,miss ,martineau's translation1 done
 by her brother for the ,edinburgh      
,review1 wherein ,harriet is not once   
mentioned4  ,when ,robert ,ingersoll's  
wife would occasionally1 under great    
stress of the servant-girl problem1     

break over a bit1 as good women will1   
and say things1 ,robert would remark1   
,gently1 my dear1 gently--,i fear me you
 haven't yet gotten rid of all your     
,christian virtues4  ,the ,reverend     
,doctor ,james ,martineau never quite   
got rid of his ,christian virtues1 which
 perhaps proves that a little hate1 like
 strychnin1 is useful as a stimulant    
when properly reduced1 for ,doctor      
,martineau died only a few years ago1   
having nearly rounded out a century run4
  ,harriet ,martineau was in much doubt 
about how ,comte would regard her       
completed work1 but was greatly relieved
 when he gave it his unqualified        
approval4 ,on his earnest invitation she
 visited him in ,paris4 ,fortunately1   
she did not have to resort to the       
,herbert ,spencer expedient of wearing  
ear-muffs for protection against        
loquacious friends4 ,she liked ,comte   
first-rate1 until he began to make love 
to her4 ,then his stock dropped below   
par4  ,comte was always much impressed  

by intellectual women4 ,his wife had    
given him a sample of the other kind1   
and caused him to swing out and idealize
 the woman of brains4  ,so that1 when   
,harriet ,martineau admired the         
,positive ,philosophy1 it was proof     
sufficient to ,comte of her excellence  
in all things4 ,she knew better1 and    
started soon for ,dover4  ,mr4 and ,mrs4
 ,mill had called on ,comte a few months
 before1 and given him a glimpse of the 
ideal--an intellectual man mated with an
 intellectual woman4 ,but ,comte didn't 
see that it was plain commonsense that  
made them great4 ,comte prided himself  
on his own commonsense1 but the article 
was not in his equipment1 else he would 
not have put the blame of all his       
troubles upon his wife4 ,a man with     
commonsense1 married to a woman who     
hasn't any1 does not necessarily forfeit
 his own4  ,mr4 or ,mrs4 ,mill would    
have been great anywhere--singly1       
separately1 together1 or apart4 ,each   
was a radiant center4 ,weakness         

multiplied by two does not give         
strength1 and naught times naught equals
 naught4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,having finished the       
,positive ,philosophy1 ,comte's restless
 mind began to look around for more     
worlds to conquer4  ,in the expenditure 
of money he was careful1 and in his     
accounts exact2 but the making of money 
and its accumulation were things that to
 him could safely be delegated to       
second-class minds4 ,a haughty pride of 
intellect was his1 not unmixed with that
 peculiar quality of the prima donna    
which causes her to cut fantastic capers
 and make everybody kiss her big toe4   
,comte had done one thing superbly well4
 ,england had recognized his merit to a 
degree that ,france had not1 and to his 
,english friends he now made an appeal  
for financial help1 so he could have    
freedom to complete another great work  
he had in his mind4 ,to ,john ,stuart   
,mill he wrote1 outlining in a general  
way his new book on a social science1 to

 be called ,the ,positive ,polity4 ,it  
was1 in a degree1 to be a sequel to the 
,positive ,philosophy4  ,mill           
communicated with ,grote1 the banker1   
known to us through his superb history  
of ,greece1 and with the help of ,george
 ,henry ,lewes and a mite from ,herbert 
,spencer to show his good-will1 a purse 
equal to about twelve hundred dollars   
was sent to ,comte4  ,matters went along
 for a year1 when ,comte wrote a brief  
letter to ,mill suggesting that it was  
about time for another remittance4 ,mill
 again appealed to ,grote1 and ,grote1  
the man of affairs1 wrote to his ,paris 
correspondent1 who ascertained that     
,comte1 now believing he was free from  
the bread-and-butter bugaboo1 was giving
 his services to the ,polytechnic1      
gratis1 and also giving lectures to the 
people wherever some one would simply   
pay for the hall4  ,to advance money to 
a man that he might write a book showing
 how the nation should manage its       
finances1 when the author could not look

 after his own1 reminded ,grote of the  
individual who wrote from the ,debtors' 
,prison to the ,secretary of the        
,exchequer1 giving valuable advice4 ,all
 publishers are familiar with the       
penniless person who writes a book on   
,how to ,achieve ,success1 expecting to 
achieve success by publishing it4       
,grote wrote to ,mill1 expressing the   
wholesome truth that the first duty of  
every man was to make a living for      
himself--a fact which ,mill states in   
,on ,liberty4 ,mill hadn't the temerity 
to pass ,grote's maxim along to ,comte1 
and so sent a small contribution out of 
his own pocket4 ,this was very much like
 the ,indian who1 feeling that his dog's
 tail should be amputated1 cut it off a 
little at a time1 so as not to hurt the 
animal4 ,we have all done this1 and got 
the ingratitude we deserved4  ,comte    
wrote back a most sarcastic letter1     
accusing ,mill and ,grote with having   
broken faith with him4  ,he now treated 
them very much as he had ,saint-,simon2 

and in his lectures seldom failed to    
tell in pointed phrase what a lot of    
money-grubbing barbarians inhabited the 
,british ,isles4 ,to the credit of ,mill
 be it said that he still believed in   
the value of the ,positive ,philosophy1 
and did all he could to further ,comte's
 reputation and help the sale of his    
books4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred     
,forty-five1 when ,comte was forty-seven
 years old1 he met ,madame ,clothilde de
 ,vaux4 ,her husband was in prison1     
serving a life-sentence for political   
offenses1 and ,comte was first attracted
 to her through pity4 ,soon this evolved
 into a violent attachment1 and ,comte  
began to quote her in his lectures4     
,comte was now most busy with his       
,polity in collaboration with ,madame   
,de ,vaux4 ,her part of the work seems  
to have been to listen to ,comte while  
he read her his amusing manuscript3 and 
she1 being a good woman and wise1       
praised the work in every part4 ,they   

were together almost daily1 and she     
seemed to supply him the sympathy he had
 all of his life so much craved4  ,in   
one short year ,madame ,de ,vaux died1  
and ,comte for a time was inconsolable4 
,then his sorrow found surcease in an   
attempt to do for her in prose what     
,dante had done for ,beatrice in poetry4
 ,but the vehicle of ,comte's thoughts  
creaked4 ,the exact language of science 
when applied to a woman becomes         
peculiarly non-piquant and lacking in   
perspicacity and perspicuity4 ,no woman 
can be summed up in an algebraic        
formula1 and when a mathematician does a
 problem to his lady's eyebrow1 he      
forgets entirely that femininity forever
 equals x4 ,those who can write ,sonnets
 from the ,portuguese may place their   
loves on exhibition--no others should4  
,sweets too sweet do cloy4  ,for the    
rest of his life1 ,comte made every     
,wednesday afternoon sacred for a visit 
to the grave of ,madame ,de ,vaux1 and  
three times every day1 with the         

precision of a ,mussulman1 he retired to
 his room1 locked the door1 and in      
silence apostrophized to her spirit4    
,comte now continued as industrious as  
ever1 but the quality of his writing    
lamentably declined4 ,his popular       
lectures to the people on scientific    
themes were always good1 and his work as
 a teacher was satisfactory1 but when he
 endeavored to continue original        
research1 then his hazards of mind      
lacked steady flight4  ,the ,positive   
,polity degenerated into a dogmatic     
scheme of government where the wisest   
should rule4 ,the determination of who  
was wisest was to be left to the wise   
ones themselves1 and ,comte himself     
volunteered to be the first ,pope4  ,the
 worship of ,humanity would be the only 
religion1 and women would shine as the  
high priests4 ,comte thought it all out 
in detail1 and arranged a complete      
scheme of life1 and actually wished to  
form a political party and overthrow the
 government1 founding a gynecocracy on  

the ruins4 ,his ebbing mind could not   
grasp the thought that tyranny founded  
on goodness is a tyranny still1 and that
 a despotic altruism is a despotism     
nevertheless4 ,slavery blocks evolution4
  ,so thus rounded out the life of      
,auguste ,comte--beginning in childhood1
 he traversed the circle1 and ended     
where he began4  ,he died in his        
sixtieth year4 ,m4 ,littre1 his most    
famous pupil1 touchingly looked after   
his wants to the last1 ministered to his
 necessities1 advancing money on        
royalties that were never due4 ,m4      
,littre occasionally apologized for the 
meagerness of the returns1 and was      
closely questioned and even doubted by  
,comte1 who died unaware of the         
unflinching loyalty of a friendship that
 endured distrust and contumely without 
resentment4 ,such love and patience and 
loyalty as were shown by ,m4 ,littre    
redeem the race4  ,the best certificate 
to the worth of ,auguste ,comte lies in 
the fact that1 in spite of marked       

personal limitations and much petty     
querulousness1 he profoundly influenced 
such men as ,littre1 ,humboldt1 ,mill1  
,lewes1 ,grote1 ,spencer and ,frederic  
,harrison4  ,to have helped such men as 
these1 and cheered them on their way1   
was no small achievement4 ,comte's sole 
claim for immortality lies in the       
,positive ,philosophy4 ,the word        
positive1 as used by ,comte1 is similar 
in intent to pose1 poise--fixed1 final4 
,so1 besides a positive present good1   
,comte believed he was stating a final  
truth2 to-wit3 that which is good here  
is good everywhere1 and if there is a   
future life1 the best preparation for it
 is to live now and here1 up to your    
highest and best4 ,comte protested      
against the idea of a preparation for a 
life to come--now is the time1 and the  
place is here4  ,the essence of         
,positive ,philosophy is that man passes
 through three mental periods--the      
,theological or fictitious2 the         
,metaphysical or abstract2 the ,positive

 or scientific4  ,hence1 there are three
 general philosophies or systems of     
conceptions concerning life and destiny4
  ,the ,theological1 or first system1 is
 the necessary starting-point of the    
human intellect4 ,the ,positive1 or     
third period1 is the ultimate goal of   
every progressive1 thinking man2 the    
second period is merely a state of      
transition that bridges the gulf between
 the first and the third4  ,metaphysics 
holds the child by the hand until he can
 trust his feet--it is a passageway     
between the fictitious and the actual4  
,once across the chasm1 it is no longer 
needed4 ,theology represents the child2 
,metaphysics the youth2 ,science the    
man4  ,the evolution of the race is     
mirrored in the evolution of the        
individual4 ,look back on your own      
career--your first dawn of thought began
 in an inquiry1 ,who made all this--how 
did it all happen8  ,and ,theology comes
 in with a glib explanation3 the        
fairies1 dryads1 gnomes and gods made   

everything1 and they can do with it all 
as they please4 ,later1 we concentrate  
all of these personalities in one god1  
with a devil in competition1 and this   
for a time satisfies4  ,later1 the      
thought of an arbitrary being dealing   
out rewards and punishments grows dim1  
for we see the regular workings of      
,cause and ,effect4 ,we begin to talk of
 ,energy1 the ,divine ,essence1 and the 
,reign of ,law4 ,we speak1 as ,matthew  
,arnold did1 of a ,power1 not ourselves1
 that makes for righteousness4 ,but     
,emerson believed in a power that was in
 himself that made for righteousness4   
,metaphysics reaches its highest stage  
when it affirms ,all is ,one1 or ,all is
 ,mind1 just as ,theology reaches its   
highest conception when it becomes      
,monotheistic--having one ,god and      
curtailing the personality of the devil 
to a mere abstraction4  ,but this does  
not long satisfy1 for we begin to ask1  
,what is this ,one8 or ,what is ,mind8  
,then ,positivity comes in and says that

 the highest wisdom lies in knowing that
 we do not know anything1 and never can1
 concerning a ,first ,cause4 ,all we    
find is phenomena and behind phenomena1 
phenomena4 ,the laws of ,nature do not  
account for the origin of the laws of   
,nature4 ,spencer's famous chapter on   
the ,unknowable was derived largely from
 ,comte1 who attempted to define the    
limits of human knowledge4 ,and it is   
worth noting that the one thing which   
gave most offense in both ,comte's and  
,spencer's works was their doctrine of  
the ,unknowable4 ,this1 indeed1 forms   
but a small part of the work of these   
men1 and if it were all demolished there
 would still remain their doctrine of   
the known4 ,the bitterness of ,theology 
toward ,science arises from the fact    
that as we find things out we dispense  
with the arbitrary god1 and his business
 agent1 the priest1 who insists that no 
transaction is legal unless he ratifies 
it4  ,men begin by explaining           
everything1 and the explanations given  

are always first for other people4      
,parents answer the child1 not telling  
him the actual truth1 but giving him    
that which will satisfy--that which he  
can mentally digest4 ,to say1 ,the      
fairies brought it1 may be all right    
until the child begins to ask who the   
fairies are1 and wants to be shown one1 
and then we have to make the somewhat   
humiliating confession that there are no
 fairies4  ,but now we perceive that    
this mild fabrication in reference to   
,santa ,claus1 and the fairies1 is right
 and proper mental food for the child4  
,his mind can not grasp the truth that  
some things are unknowable2 and he is   
not sufficiently skilled in the things  
of the world to become interested in    
them--he must have a resting-place for  
his thought1 so the fairy-tale comes in 
as an aid to the growing imagination4   
,only this3 we place no penalty on      
disbelief in fairies1 nor do we make    
special offers of reward to all who     
believe that fairies actually exist4    

,neither do we tell the child that      
people who believe in fairies are good1 
and that those who do not are wicked and
 perverse4  ,comte admits that the      
theological and metaphysical stages are 
necessary1 but the sooner man can be    
graduated out of them the better4 ,he   
brought vast research to bear in order  
to show the growth and death of         
theological conceptions4 ,hate1 fear1   
revenge and doubt are all theological   
attributes1 detrimental to man's best   
efforts4 ,that moral ideas were an      
afterthought1 and really form no part of
 theology1 ,comte emphasized at great   
length1 and shows from much data where  
these ideas were grafted on to the      
original tree4  ,and the sum of the     
argument is1 that all progress of mind1 
body and material things has come to man
 through the study of ,cause and        
,effect4 ,and just in degree as he has  
abandoned the study of ,theology as     
futile and absurd1 and centered on      
helping himself here and now1 has he    

prospered4  ,positivism is really a     
religion4 ,the object of its worship is 
,humanity4 ,it does not believe in a    
devil or any influence that works for   
harm1 or in opposition to man4 ,man's   
only enemy is himself1 and this is on   
account of his ignorance of this world1 
and his superstitious belief in another4
 ,our troubles1 like diseases1 all come 
from ignorance and weakness1 and through
 our ignorance are we weak and unable to
 adjust ourselves to conditions4 ,the   
more we know of this world the better we
 think of it1 and the better are we able
 to use it for our advancement4  ,so far
 as we can judge1 the ,unknown ,cause   
that rules the world by unchanging laws 
is a movement forward toward happiness1 
growth1 justice1 peace and right4       
,therefore1 the ,scientist1 who         
perceives that all is good when rightly 
received and rightly understood1 is     
really the priest or holy man--the      
mediator and explainer of the mysteries4
 ,as fast as we understand things they  

cease to be supernatural1 for the       
supernatural is the natural not yet     
understood4 ,the theological priest who 
believes in a god and a devil is the    
real modern infidel4 ,such a belief is  
fallacious1 contrary to reason1 and     
contrary to all the man of courage sees 
and knows4  ,the real man of faith is   
the one who discards all thought of how 
it first happened1 and fixes his mind on
 the fact that he is here4 ,the more he 
studies the conditions that surround    
him1 the greater his faith in the truth 
that all is well4  ,if men had turned   
their attention to ,humanity1 discarding
 ,theology1 using as much talent1 time1 
money and effort to wring from the skies
 the secrets of the ,unknowable1 this   
world would now be a veritable paradise4
 ,it is ,theology that has barred the   
entrance to ,eden1 by diverting the     
attention of men from this world to     
another4 ,heaven is ,here4  ,all        
religious denominations now dimly       
perceive the trend of the times1 and are

 gradually omitting theology from their 
teachings and taking on ethics and      
sociology instead4 ,a preacher is now   
simply ,society's walking delegate4 ,we 
are evolving theology out and sociology 
in4 ,theology has ever been the foe of  
progress and the enemy of knowledge4 ,it
 has professed to know all and has      
placed a penalty on advancement4 ,the   
,age of ,enlightenment will not be here 
until every church has evolved into a   
schoolhouse1 and every priest is a pupil
 as well as a teacher4     ,,voltaire   
,we are intelligent beings2 and         
intelligent beings can not have been    
formed by a blind1 brute1 insensible    
being4 ,there is certainly some         
difference between a clod and the ideas 
of ,newton4 ,newton's      intelligence 
came from some greater ,intelligence4   
--,the ,philosophical ,dictionary       
,illustration3 ,,voltaire   ,the man1   
,francois ,marie ,arouet1 known to us as
 ,voltaire 7which name he adopted in his
 twenty-first year71 was born in ,paris 

in ,sixteen ,hundred ,ninety-four4 ,he  
was the second son in a family of three 
children4 ,during his babyhood he was   
very frail2 in childhood sickly and     
weak2 and throughout his whole life he  
suffered much from indigestion and      
insomnia4  ,in all the realm of writers 
no man ever had a fuller and more active
 career1 touching life at so many       
points1 than ,voltaire4  ,the first     
requisite in a long and useful career   
would seem to be1 have yourself born    
weak and cultivate dyspepsia1           
nervousness and insomnia4 ,whether or   
not the good die young is still a mooted
 question1 but certainly the athletic   
often do4 ,all those good men and true1 
who at grocery1 tavern and              
railroad-station eat hard-boiled eggs on
 a wager1 and lift barrels of flour with
 one hand1 are carried to early graves1 
and over the grass-grown mounds that    
cover their dust1 consumptive1 dyspeptic
 and neurotic relatives1 for twice or   
thrice a score of years1 strew sweet    

myrtle1 thyme and mignonette4  ,voltaire
 died of an accident--too much          
,four-o',clock--cut off in his prime1   
when life for him was at its brightest  
and best1 aged eighty-three4  ,the only 
evidence we have that the mind of       
,voltaire failed at the last came from  
the ,abbe ,gaultier and the ,cure of    
,saint ,sulpice4 ,these good men arrived
 with a written retraction1 which they  
desired ,voltaire to sign4 ,waiting in  
the anteroom of the sick-chamber they   
sent in word that they wished to enter4 
,assure them of my respect1 said the    
stricken man4 ,but the holy men were not
 to be thus turned away1 so they        
entered4 ,they approached the bedside1  
and the ,cure of ,saint ,sulpice said3  
,m4 de ,voltaire1 your life is about to 
end4 ,do you acknowledge the divinity of
 ,jesus ,christ8  ,and the dying man    
stretched out a bony hand1 making a     
gesture that they should depart1 and    
murmured1 ,let me die in peace4  ,you   
see1 said the ,cure to the ,abbe1 as    

they withdrew1 you see that he is out of
 his head6         99       99       99 
99       99  ,the father of ,voltaire1  
,francois ,arouet1 was a notary who     
looked after various family estates and 
waxed prosperous on the crumbs that fell
 from the rich man's table4  ,he was    
solicitor to the ,duc de ,richelieu1 the
 ,sullys1 and also the ,duchesse de     
,saint-,simon1 mother of the            
philosopher1 ,saint-,simon1 who made the
 mistake of helping ,auguste ,comte1    
thus getting himself hotly and          
positively denounced by the man who     
formulated the ,positive ,philosophy4   
,arouet belonged to the middle class and
 never knew that he sprang from a noble 
line until his son announced the fact4  
,it was then too late to deny it4  ,he  
was a devout ,churchman1 upright in all 
his affairs1 respectable1 took snuff1   
walked with a waddle and cultivated a   
double chin4 ,m4 ,arouet pater did not  
marry until his mind was mature1 so that
 he might avoid the danger of a         

mismating4 ,he was forty1 past4 ,the    
second son1 ,francois fils1 was ten     
years younger than his brother ,armand1 
so the father was over fifty when our   
hero was born4 ,francois fils used to   
speak of himself as an afterthought--a  
sort of domestic postscript--but1 added 
he musingly1 our afterthoughts are often
 best4  ,one of the most distinguished  
clients of ,m4 ,arouet was ,ninon de    
,lenclos1 who had the felicity to be    
made love to by three generations of    
,frenchmen4 ,ninon has been likened for 
her vivacious ways1 her flashing        
intellect1 and her perennial youth1 to  
the divine ,sara1 who at sixty plays the
 part of ,juliet with a woman of thirty 
for the old nurse4 ,ninon had turned her
 three-score and ten1 and swung         
gracefully into the home-stretch1 when  
the second son was born to ,m4 ,arouet4 
,she was of a deeply religious turn of  
mind1 for she had been loved by several 
priests1 and now the ,abbe de           
,chateauneuf was paying his devotions to

 her4  ,ninon was much interested in the
 new arrival1 and going to the house of 
,m4 ,arouet1 took to bed1 and sent in   
haste for the ,abbe de ,chateauneuf1    
saying she was in sore trouble4 ,when   
the good man arrived1 he thought it a   
matter of extreme unction1 and was      
ushered into the room of the alleged    
invalid4 ,here he was duly presented    
with the infant that later was to write 
the ,philosophical ,dictionary4 ,it was 
as queer a case of kabojolism as history
 records4  ,doubtless the ,abbe was a   
bit agitated at first1 but finally      
getting his breath1 he managed to say1  
,as there is a vicarious atonement1     
there must also be1 on occasion1        
vicarious births1 and this is one--,god 
be praised4  ,the child was then        
baptized1 the good ,abbe standing as    
godfather4  ,there must be something1   
after all1 in prenatal influences1 for  
as the little ,francois grew up he      
evolved the traits of ,ninon de ,lenclos
 and the ,abbe much more than those of  

his father and mother4  ,when the boy   
was a little over six years old the     
mother died4 ,of her we know absolutely 
nothing4 ,in her son's writings he      
refers to her but once1 wherein he has  
her say that ,boileau was a clever book1
 but a silly man4  ,the education of the
 youngster seemed largely to have been  
left to the ,abbe1 his godfather1 who   
very early taught him to recite the     
,mosiad1 a metrical effusion wherein the
 mistakes of ,moses were related in     
churchly ,latin1 done first for the     
divertisement of sundry pious monks in  
idle hours4  ,at ten years of age       
,francois was sent to the ,college of   
,louis-le-,grand1 a ,jesuit school where
 the minds of youth were molded in      
things sacred and secular4  ,in only one
 thing did the boy really excel1 and    
that was in the matter of making rhymes4
 ,the ,abbe ,chateauneuf had taught him 
the trick before he could speak plainly1
 and ,ninon had been so pleased with the
 wee poet that she left him two thousand

 francs in her will for the purchase of 
books4 ,as ,ninon insisted on living to 
be ninety1 ,voltaire discounted the     
legacy and got it cashed on dedicating a
 sonnet to the divine ,ninon4 ,in this  
sonnet ,voltaire suggests that a life of
 virtue conduces largely to longevity1  
as witness the incomparable ,ninon de   
,lenclos1 to which sentiment ,ninon     
filed no exceptions4  ,in one of the    
school debates young ,francois presented
 his argument in rhyme1 and evidently   
ran in some choice passages from the    
,mosiad1 for ,father le ,jay1 according 
to ,condorcet1 left his official chair1 
and rushing down the aisle1 grabbed the 
boy by the collar1 and shaking him1     
said1 ,unhappy boy6 you will one day be 
the standard-bearer of deism in         
,france6--a prophecy1 possibly1 made    
after its fulfilment4  ,young ,francois 
remained at the college until he was    
seventeen years old4 ,from letters sent 
by him while there1 it is evident that  
the chief characteristic of his mind was

 already a contempt for the clergy4 ,of 
two of his colleagues who were preparing
 for the priesthood1 he says1 ,they had 
reflected on the dangers of a world of  
the charms of which they were ignorant2 
and on the pleasures of a religious life
 of which they knew not the             
disagreeableness4 ,already we see he was
 getting handy in polishing a sentence  
with the emery of his wit4 ,continuing1 
he says3 ,in a quarter of an hour they  
ran over all the ,orders1 and each      
seemed so attractive that they could not
 decide4 ,in which predicament they     
might have been left like the ass1 which
 died of starvation between two bundles 
of hay1 not knowing which to choose4    
,however1 they decided to leave the     
matter to ,providence1 and let the dice 
decide4 ,so one became a ,carmelite and 
the other a ,jesuit4         99       99
       99       99       99  ,arouet1 at
 first intent on having his son become a
 priest1 now fell back on the law as    
second choice4 ,the young man was       

therefore duly articled with a firm of  
advocates and sent to hear lectures on  
jurisprudence4 ,but his godfather       
introduced him into the ,society of the 
,temple1 a group of wits1 of all ages1  
who could take snuff and throw off an   
epigram on any subject4 ,the bright     
young man1 flashing1 dashing and daring1
 made friends at once through his skill 
in writing scurrilous verse upon any one
 whose name might be mentioned4 ,this   
habit had been begun in college1 where  
it was much applauded by the underlings1
 who delighted to see their unpopular   
teachers done to a turn4 ,the scribbling
 habit is a variant of that peculiar    
propensity which finds form in drawing a
 portrait on the blackboard before the  
teacher gets around in the morning4 ,if 
the teacher does not happen to love art 
for art's sake1 there may be trouble2   
but verses are safer1 for they circulate
 secretly and are copied and quoted     
anonymously4  ,the thing we do best in  
life is that which we play at most in   

youth4  ,ridicule was this man's weapon4
 ,for the benefit of the ,society of the
 ,temple he paid his respects to the    
sham piety and politics of ,versailles4 
,he had been educated by priests1 and   
his father was a politician feeding at  
the public trough4 ,the young man knew  
the faults and foibles of both priest   
and politician1 and his keen wit told   
truths about the court that were so well
 expressed the wastebasket did not      
capture them4 ,one of these effusions   
was printed1 anonymously1 of course1 but
 a copy coming into the hands of ,m4    
,arouet1 the old gentleman recognized   
the literary style and became alarmed4  
,he must get the young man out of       
,paris--the ,bastile yawned for poets   
like this6  ,a brother of the ,abbe de  
,chateauneuf was ,ambassador at ,the    
,hague1 and the great man1 being        
importuned1 consented to take the youth 
as clerk4  ,life at ,the ,hague afforded
 the embryo poet an opportunity to meet 
many distinguished people4  ,in         

,francois there was none of the         
bourgeois--he associated only with      
nobility--and as he had an aristocracy  
of the intellect1 which served him quite
 as well as a peerage1 he was everywhere
 received4 ,in his manner there was     
nothing apologetic--he took everything  
as his divine right4  ,in this brilliant
 little coterie at ,the ,hague was one  
,madame ,dunoyer1 a writer of court     
gossip and a social promoter of ability1
 separated from her husband for her     
husband's good4 ,francois crossed swords
 with her in an encounter of wit1 was   
worsted1 but got even by making love to 
her2 and later he made love to her      
daughter1 a beautiful girl of about his 
own age4  ,the air became surcharged    
with gossip4 ,there was danger of an    
explosion any moment4 ,madame ,dunoyer  
gave it out that the brilliant subaltern
 was to marry the girl4 ,the ,madame was
 going to capture the youth1 either with
 her own charms or those of her         
daughter--or combined4 ,rumblings were  

heard on the horizon4 ,the ,ambassador1 
fearing entanglement1 bundled young     
,arouet back to ,paris1 with a          
testimonial as to his character1 quite  
unnecessary4 ,a denial without an       
accusation is equal to a plea of guilty2
 and that the young man had made the    
mistake of making violent love to the   
mother and daughter at the same time    
there is no doubt4 ,the mother had      
accused him and he said things back2 he 
even had shown the atrocious bad taste  
of references in rhyme to the mutual    
interchange of confidences that the     
mother and daughter might enjoy4 ,the   
,ambassador had acted none too soon4    
,the father was frantic with alarm--the 
boy had disgraced him1 and even his own 
position seemed to be threatened when   
some wit adroitly accused the parent of 
writing the doggerel for his son4  ,m4  
,arouet denied it with an oath--while   
the son refused to explain1 or to say   
anything beyond that he loved his       
father1 thus carrying out the idea that 

the stupid old notary was really a wit  
in disguise1 masking his intellect by a 
seeming dulness4 ,no more biting irony  
was ever put out by ,voltaire than this1
 and the pathos of it lies in the fact  
that the father was quite unable to     
appreciate the quip4  ,it was a sample  
of filial humor much more subtle than   
that indulged in by ,charles ,dickens1  
who pilloried his parents in print1 one 
as ,mr4 ,micawber and the other as ,mrs4
 ,nickleby4 ,dickens told the truth and 
painted it large1 but ,francois ,arouet 
dealt in indiscreet fallacy when he     
endeavored to give his father a         
reputation for raillery4  ,a peculiarly 
offensive poem1 appearing about this    
time1 with the ,regent and his daughter1
 the ,duchesse de ,berri1 for a central 
theme1 a rescript was issued which      
indirectly testified to the poetic skill
 of young ,arouet4 ,he was exiled to a  
point three hundred miles from ,paris   
and forbidden to come nearer on penalty1
 like unto the injunction issued by     

,prince ,henry against the blameless    
,falstaff4 ,rumor said that the father  
had something to do with the matter4    
,but the exile was not for long4 ,the   
young poet wrote a most adulatory       
composition to the ,regent1 setting     
forth his innocence4 ,the ,regent was a 
mild and amiable man and much desired   
peace with all his subjects--especially 
those who dipped their quills in gall4  
,he was melted by the rhyme that made   
him out such a paragon of virtue1 and   
made haste to issue a pardon4  ,the     
elder ,arouet now proved that he was not
 wholly without humor1 for he wrote to a
 friend1 ,the exile of my dear son      
distressed me much less than does this  
precipitate recall4  ,in order to       
protect himself the father now refused a
 home to the son1 and ,francois became a
 lodger at a boarding-house4 ,he wrote  
plays and acted in them1 penned much bad
 poetry1 went in good society and had a 
very rouge time4 ,up to this period he  
knew little ,latin and less ,greek1 but 

now he had an opportunity to furbish up 
on both4 ,he found himself an inmate of 
the ,bastile1 on the charge of          
expressing his congratulations to the   
people of ,france on the passing of     
,louis the ,fourteenth4 ,in ,america    
libel only applies to live men1 but the 
world had not then gotten this far      
along4  ,in the prison it was provided  
that ,sieur ,arouet fils should not be  
allowed pens and paper on account of his
 misuse of these good things when       
outside4 ,he was given copies of ,homer1
 however1 in ,greek and ,latin1 and he  
set himself at work1 with several of the
 other prisoners1 to perfect himself in 
these languages4 ,we have glimpses of   
his dining with the governor of the     
prison1 and even organizing theatrical  
performances1 and he was finally allowed
 writing materials on promise that he   
would not do anything worse than        
translate the ,bible1 so altogether he  
was very well treated4  ,in fact1 he    
himself referred to this year spent in  

prison as a pious retreat1 that ,i might
 meditate1 and chasten my soul in quiet 
thought4  ,he was only twenty-one1 and  
yet he had set ,paris by the ears1 and  
his name was known throughout ,france4  
,i am as well known as the ,regent and  
will be remembered longer1 he wrote--a  
statement and a prophecy that then      
seemed very egotistical1 but which time 
has fully justified4  ,it was in prison 
that he decided to change his name to   
,voltaire1 a fanciful word of his own   
coining4 ,his pretended reason for the  
change was that he might begin life anew
 and escape the disgrace he had         
undergone of being in prison4 ,there is 
reason to believe1 however1 that he was 
rather proud of being detained1 it was  
proof of his power--he was dangerous    
outside4 ,but his family had practically
 cast him off--he owed nothing to       
them--and the change of name fostered a 
mysterious noble birth1 an idea that he 
allowed to gain currency without        
contradiction4 ,moliere had changed his 

name from ,poquolin--and was he not     
really following in ,moliere's          
footsteps1 even to suffering disgrace   
and public odium8         99       99   
99       99       99  ,the play of      
,oedipe was presented by ,voltaire at   
the ,theater ,francaise1 ,november      
,eighteenth1 ,seventeen ,hundred        
,eighteen4 ,this play was written before
 the author's sojourn in prison1 but    
there he had sandpapered its passages1  
and hand-polished the epigrams4  ,it was
 rehearsed at length with the help of   
the guests at the ,bastile1 and once    
,voltaire wrote a note of appreciation  
to the ,prefect of ,police1 thanking him
 for his thoughtfulness in sending such 
excellent and pure-minded people to help
 him in his work4  ,these things had    
been managed so they discreetly leaked  
out1 and the cafes echoed with the name 
of ,voltaire4  ,very soon after his     
release the play was presented to a     
crowded house4 ,it was a success from   
the start1 for into its lines the       

audience was allowed to read many veiled
 allusions to ,paris public characters4 
,it ran for forty-five nights1 and was  
the furore4 ,on one occasion when       
interest seemed to lag1 ,voltaire1 on a 
sudden inspiration1 dressed up as a     
bumpkin page1 and attended the ,pontiff1
 carrying his train1 playing various and
 sundry sly pranks in pantomime1 a la   
,francis ,wilson4  ,in one of the boxes 
sat a famous beauty1 the ,duchesse de   
,villars4 ,who is this strange person   
who is intent upon spoiling the play8   
she asked4 ,on being told that he was   
the author of the drama1 her censure    
turned to approbation and she sent for  
the young man4 ,his appearance in her   
box was duly noted4 ,the ,regent and his
 daughter1 the ,duchesse de ,berri1     
could not resist the temptation to      
attend the play1 and see how much they  
were satirized4 ,voltaire did his little
 train-bearing act for their benefit1   
with a few extra grimaces1 which pleased
 them very much1 and seeing his         

opportunity1 wrote a gracious letter of 
thanks to ,his ,highness for having     
deigned to visit his play1 winding up   
with thanks for the years in the        
,bastile where1 ,god wot1 all of my evil
 inclinations were duly chastened and   
corrected4  ,it had the desired         
effect--each side feared the other4 ,the
 ,regent wanted the ready writers on his
 side1 and the playwright who was       
opposed by the party in power could not 
hope for success4 ,the ,regent sent a   
present of a thousand crowns to         
,voltaire and also fixed on him a       
pension of twelve hundred livres a year4
 ,at once every passage in the play that
 could be construed as bearing on       
royalty was revised into words of       
adulation1 and all went merry as a      
marriage-bell4 ,financially the play was
 a success1 and better yet was the      
pension and the good-will of the young  
,king and his ,regent4  ,thus at        
twenty-two did ,voltaire have the world 
at his feet4         99       99        

99       99       99  ,when ,voltaire   
was twenty-four1 his father died4 ,the  
will provided that the property should  
be equally divided between his three    
children1 but it was stipulated that the
 second son should not come into        
possession of his share until he was    
thirty-five1 and not then unless he was 
able to show the ,master in ,chancery   
that he was capable of wisely managing  
his own affairs4  ,this doubt of the    
father concerning the son's financial   
ability has often been commented upon   
ironically1 in view of the pronounced   
thrift shown by ,voltaire in later life4
  ,but who shall say whether the father 
by that provision in his will did not   
drive home a stern lesson in economy8   
,commodore ,vanderbilt had so much      
distrust of his son ,william's capacity 
for business that he exiled him to a    
,long ,island farm1 on an allowance4    
,years after1 when ,william had shown   
his ability to outstrip his father1 he  
rebuked a critic who volunteered a      

suggestion to the effect that the father
 had erred in the boy problem4 ,said    
,william1 ,my father was right in this1 
as in most other things--,i was a fool1 
and he knew it4  ,voltaire's vacation of
 a year in the ,bastile had done him    
much good4 ,then the will of his father1
 with its cautious provisions1 tended to
 sober the youth to a point where he was
 docile enough for society's needs4  ,a 
good deal of ballast in way of trouble  
was necessary to hold this man down4    
,marriage might have tamed him4         
,bachelors are of two kinds--those who  
are innocent of women1 and those who    
know women too well4 ,the second class1 
,i am told1 outnumbers the first as ten 
to one4  ,voltaire had been a favorite  
of various women--usually married       
ladies1 and those older than himself4   
,he had plagiarized ,franklin1 saying1  
fifty years before the ,american put out
 his famous advice1 ,if you must fall in
 love1 why1 fall in love with a woman   
much older than yourself1 or at least a 

homely one--for only such are grateful4 
,in answer to a man who said divorce and
 marriage were instituted at the same   
time1 ,voltaire said3 ,this is a        
mistake3 there is at least three days'  
difference4 ,men sometimes quarrel with 
their wives at the end of three days1   
beat them in a week and divorce them at 
the end of a month4  ,voltaire was small
 and slight in stature1 but his bubbling
 wit and graceful presence more than    
made amends for any deficiency in way of
 form and feature4 ,had he desired1 he  
might have taken his pick among the     
young women of nobility1 but we see the 
caution of his nature in limiting his   
love-affairs to plain women1 securely   
married4 ,gossip isn't busy with the    
plain women--that is why ,i like you1 he
 once said to ,madame de ,bernieres4    
,what the ,madame's reply was1 we do not
 know1 but probably she was not         
displeased4 ,if a woman knows she is    
loved1 it matters little what you say to
 her4 ,compliments by the right oblique 

are construed into lavish praise when   
expressed in the right tone of voice by 
the right person4  ,the ,regent had     
allowed ,voltaire another pension of two
 thousand francs1 at the same time      
intimating that he hoped the writer's   
income was sufficient so he could now   
tell the truth4 ,voltaire took the hint1
 so subtly veiled1 to the effect that if
 he again affronted royalty by unkind   
criticisms1 his entire pension would be 
canceled4  ,from this time on to the end
 of his life1 he was full of lavish     
praise for royalty4 ,he was needlessly  
loyal1 and dedicated poems and pamphlets
 to nobility1 right and left1 in a way  
that would have caused a smile were not 
nobility so hopelessly bound in         
three-quarters pachyderm4 ,he also wrote
 religious poems1 protesting his love   
for the ,church4 ,and here seems a good 
place to say that ,voltaire was a member
 of the ,catholic ,church to his death4 
,many of his worst attacks on the       
priesthood were put in way of defense   

for outrageous actions which he         
enumerated in detail4 ,he kept people   
guessing as to what he meant and what he
 would do next4  ,immediately after the 
death of ,president ,mc,kinley there was
 a fine scramble among the editors of   
certain saffron sheets--to get in line  
and shake their ulsters free from all   
taint of anarchy4 ,some writers1 in     
order to divert suspicion from          
themselves1 hotly denounced other men as
 anarchists4  ,throughout his life      
,voltaire had spasms of repentance1     
prompted by caution1 possibly1 when he  
warmly denounced atheists1 and swore1 i'
 faith1 that one object of his life was 
to purify the ,church and cleanse it of 
its secret faults4  ,in his twenty-sixth
 year1 when he was trying hard to be    
good1 he got into a personal altercation
 with the ,chevalier de ,rohan1 an      
insignificant man bearing a proud name4 
,the ,chevalier's wit was no match for  
the other's rapier-like tongue1 but he  
had a way of his own in which to get    

even4 ,he had his servants waylay the   
luckless poet and chastise him soundly  
with rattans4  ,voltaire was furious2 he
 tried to get the courts to take it up1 
but the prevailing idea was that he had 
gotten what he deserved1 and the fact   
that the whole affair occurred after    
dark and the ,chevalier did not do the  
beating in person1 made conviction      
impossible4  ,but ,voltaire now quit the
 anapest and dactyl and devoted his best
 hours to taking fencing lessons4 ,his  
firm intent was to baptize the soil with
 ,rohan's blood4 ,voltaire was of enough
 importance so the secret police knew of
 all his doings4 ,suddenly he found     
himself taking a post-graduate course in
 the ,bastile4 ,i am not sure that the  
fiery little man was entirely displeased
 with the procedure4 ,it proved to the  
world that he was a dangerous character1
 and it also gave him a respite from the
 tyranny of the fencing-master1 and     
allowed him to turn to his first1 last  
and only love--literature4 ,in          

,voltaire's cosmos was a good deal of   
the ,bob ,acres quality4  ,there were   
plenty of reasons for locking him       
up--heresy and treason have ever been   
first cousins--and pamphlets lampooning 
,churchmen high in office were laid at  
his door4 ,no doubt some of the         
anonymous literature was not his--,i    
would have done the thing better or not 
at all1 he once said in reference to a  
scurrilous brochure4 ,the real fact was1
 that that particular pamphlet was done 
by a disciple1 and if ,voltaire's       
writings were vile1 then was his offense
 doubled in that he vitalized a ravenous
 brood of scribblers4 ,they played      
,caliban to his ,setebos4  ,voltaire's  
most offensive contributions were always
 attributed by him to this bishop or    
that1 and to various dignitaries who had
 no existence save in the figment of his
 own fertile pigment4  ,he once carried 
on a controversy between the ,bishop of 
,berlin and the ,archbishop of ,paris1  
each man thundering against the other   

with a monthly pamphlet wherein each one
 gored the other without mercy1 and     
revealed the senselessness of the       
other's religion4 ,they flung the       
literary stinkpot with great accuracy4  
,the other man's superstition is always 
ridiculous to us--our own is sacred1    
said ,voltaire1 and so he allowed his   
controversialists to fight it out for   
his own quiet joy1 and the edification  
of the onlookers4  ,then his plan of    
printing an alleged sermon1 giving some 
unknown prelate due credit on the       
title-page1 starting in with a pious    
text and a page of trite nothings and   
gradually drifting off into ridicule of 
the things he had started in to         
defend--all this gives a comic tinge to 
his wail that some evil-minded person is
 attributing things to me ,i never      
wrote1 ,if an occasional sly ,churchman 
got after him with his own weapon1      
writing things in his style more        
hazardous than he dare express1 surely  
he should not have complained4  ,but    

this was a fact--the enemy could not    
follow him long with a literary         
fusillade--they hadn't the mental       
ammunition4  ,well has ,voltaire been   
called the father of all those who wear 
shovel-hats4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,a few months in  
the ,bastile1 and ,voltaire's           
indeterminate sentence was commuted to  
exile4 ,he was allowed to leave his     
country for his country's good4 ,early  
in the year ,seventeen ,hundred         
,twenty-six he landed in ,england1      
evidently knowing nobody there except   
one merchant1 a man of no special       
prominence4  ,voltaire belonged to the  
nobility by divine right--as much as did
 ,disraeli4 ,both had an inward contempt
 for titles1 but they knew the hearts of
 the owners so well that they simply    
played a game of chess1 and the men they
 moved were live knights1 bishops1 kings
 and queens1 with rollers under the     
castles4 ,the pawns they pushed here and
 there were the literary puppets of the 

time4  ,the first thing ,voltaire had to
 master in ,england was the language1   
and this he did passably inside of three
 months4 ,he took ,grub ,street by      
storm2 dawdled at ,dodsley's2 met ,dean 
,swift1 and these worthies respected    
each other's wit so much that they      
simply took snuff1 grimaced and let it  
go at that2 ,pope came in for a visit1  
and the ,french poet crossed ,twickenham
 ferry and offered a handmade sonnet in 
admiration of the ,essay on ,man1 which 
he had probably never read4 ,gay gave   
,voltaire ,the ,beggar's ,opera1 in     
private1 and together they called on    
,congreve1 who interrupted the          
,frenchman's flow of flattery long      
enough to say that he wished to be      
looked on as a gentleman1 not a poet4   
,and ,voltaire replied that there were  
many gentlemen but few poets1 and if    
,congreve had had the misfortune to be  
simply a gentleman he would not have    
troubled to call on him at all4         
,congreve1 who really regarded himself  

as the peer of ,shakespeare1 was won1   
and sent ,voltaire on his way with      
letters to ,horace ,walpole of          
,strawberry ,hill4 ,thomson1 who lived  
at ,hammersmith1 and wrote his ,seasons 
in a public next door to ,kelmscott1    
corrected and revised some of           
,voltaire's attempts at ,english poetry4
 ,young evolved some of his ,night      
,thoughts while on a visit with         
,voltaire at ,bubb ,dodington's4  ,a    
call on the ,duchess of ,marlborough led
 to a dinner at ,lord ,chesterfield's4  
,next he met ,queen ,caroline and       
assured her that she spoke ,french like 
a ,parisian4 ,king ,george the ,second  
quite liked ,voltaire1 because ,voltaire
 quite liked ,lady ,sandon1 his         
mistress4 ,only a ,frenchman could have 
successfully paid court to the ,king1   
,queen and ,lady ,sandon at the same    
time1 as ,voltaire did4 ,his great epic 
poem1 ,henriade1 that he had been       
sandpapering for ten years1 was now     
published1 dedicated to the ,queen4 ,the

 ,king headed the subscription-list with
 more copies than he needed1 at five    
guineas each1 on agreement4 ,voltaire   
afterward said that he would not be     
expected to read the poem4 ,the ,queen's
 good offices were utilized--she became 
for the time a royal book-agent1 and her
 signature and the author's adorned all 
deluxe copies4 ,a suggestion from the   
,queen was equal to an order1 and the   
edition was soon worked off4  ,voltaire 
now spent three years in ,england4 ,he  
had written his ,life of ,charles the   
,twelfth1 several plays1 an ,english    
,note-,book1 and best of all1 had gotten
 together a thousand pounds good money  
as proceeds of ,henriade1 a stiff and   
stilted piece of pedantic bombast1      
written with sweat and lamp-smoke4  ,the
 ,letters on the ,english were published
 a few years later in ,paris with good  
results1 considering it was only a      
by-product4 ,it is a deal better-natured
 than ,dickens' ,american ,note-,book1  
and had more humor than ,emerson's      

,english ,traits4 ,among other things   
quite ,voltairesque in the ,letters is  
this3 ,the ,anglican ,church has        
retained many of the good old ,catholic 
customs--not the least of which is the  
collection of tithes with great         
regularity4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,the priestly habit 
of ,voltaire's life manifested itself   
even to the sharp collecting from the   
world all that the world owed him4  ,the
 snug little sum he had secured in      
,england would have shown his ability1  
but there was something better in store1
 awaiting his return to ,france4 ,it    
seems the ,controller of ,finance had   
organized a lottery to help pay the     
interest on the public debt4 ,a         
considerable sum of money had been      
realized1 but there was still a large   
number of tickets unsold1 and the       
drawing was soon to take place4         
,voltaire knew the officials who had the
 matter in charge and they knew him4 ,he
 organized a syndicate that would take  

all tickets there were left1 on         
guarantee that among the tickets        
purchased would be the one that called  
for the principal prize of forty        
thousand pounds4 ,just how it was known 
in advance what ticket would win must be
 left to those good people who          
understand these little things in       
detail4 ,in any event1 ,voltaire put in 
every sou he had--and his little fortune
 was then a matter of about ten thousand
 dollars4 ,several of his friends       
contributed a like sum4  ,the drawing   
took place1 and the prize of forty      
thousand pounds was theirs4 ,it is said 
that ,voltaire took twenty-five thousand
 pounds as his share--the whole scheme  
was his anyway--and his friends were    
quite satisfied with having doubled     
their money in a fortnight4             
,immediately on securing this money1    
,voltaire presented himself at the      
office of the ,president of ,accounts1  
and asked for the legacy left him by his
 father4 ,as proof of his financial     

ability1 and as a guarantee of good     
faith1 he opened a hand-satchel and     
piled on the ,president's table a small 
mountain of gold and bank-notes4 ,the   
first question of the astonished        
official was1 ,will ,m4 de ,voltaire    
have the supreme goodness to explain    
where he stole all this money8  ,this   
was soon followed by an apology1 as the 
visitor explained the reason of his     
visit4  ,the father's legacy amounted to
 nearly four thousand pounds1 and this  
was at once paid over to ,voltaire with 
a flattering letter expressing perfect  
faith in his ability to manage his own  
finances4  ,there is a popular opinion  
that ,voltaire made considerable money  
by his pen1 but the fact is1 that at no 
period of his life did literature       
contribute in but a very scanty way to  
his prosperity4  ,after the lottery     
scheme1 ,voltaire embarked in grain     
speculations1 importing wheat from      
,barbary for ,french consumption4 ,in   
this he made a fair profit1 but when war

 broke out between ,italy and ,france1  
he entered into an arrangement with     
,duverney1 who had the army commissariat
 in his hands1 to provision the troops4 
,it was not much of a war1 but it lasted
 long enough1 as most wars do1 for a few
 contractors to make much moneys4 ,the  
war spirit is usually fanned by         
financiers1 ,kuhn1 ,loeb and ,company   
giving the ultimatum4  ,voltaire cleared
 about twenty thousand pounds out of his
 provision contract4  ,thus we find this
 thrifty poet at forty with a fortune   
equal to a half-million dollars4 ,this  
money he loaned out in a way of his     
own--a way as original as his literary  
style4 ,his knowledge of the upper      
circles again served him well4 ,among   
the proud scions of nobility there were 
always a few who1 through gambling      
proclivities1 and other royal qualities1
 were much in need of funds4 ,voltaire  
picked the men who had only a life      
interest in their estates1 and made them
 loans1 secured by the rentals4 ,the    

loans were to be paid back in annuities 
as long as both men lived4  ,all        
insurance is a species of gambling--the 
company offers to make you a bet that   
your house will burn within a year4  ,in
 life-insurance1 the company's expert   
looks you over1 and if your waist       
measurement is not too great for your   
height1 a bargain is entered into       
wherein you agree to pay so much now1   
and so much every year as long as you   
live1 in consideration that the company 
will pay your heirs so much at your     
death4  ,the chief value of             
life-insurance lies in the fact that it 
insures a man against his own           
indiscretion1 a thing supposedly under  
his own control--but which never is4    
,voltaire's scheme banked on the man's  
weakness1 and laid his indiscretion open
 before the world4 ,it was              
life-insurance turned wrong side out1   
and could only have been devised and    
carried out by a man of courage with an 
actuary's bias for mathematics4         

,instead of agreeing to pay the man so  
much at death1 ,voltaire paid him the   
whole sum in advance1 and the man agreed
 to pay1 say1 ten per cent interest     
until either the lender or the borrower 
died4 ,no principal was to be paid1 and 
on the death of either party1 the whole 
debt was canceled4  ,voltaire picked    
only men younger than himself4 ,it was a
 tempting offer to the borrower1 for    
,voltaire looked like a consumptive1 and
 it is said that on occasion he evolved 
a wheezy cough that helped close the    
deal4 ,the whole scheme1 for ,voltaire1 
was immensely successful4 ,on some of   
the risks he collected his yearly ten   
per cent for over forty years1 or until 
his death4  ,on ,voltaire's loan of     
sixteen hundred pounds to the ,marquis  
du ,chatelet1 however1 it is known that 
he collected nothing either in way of   
principal or interest4 ,this was as     
strange a piece of financiering as was  
ever consummated2 and the inside history
 of the matter1 with its peculiar       

psychology1 has never been written4 ,the
 only two persons who could have told   
that story in its completeness were     
,voltaire and the ,madame du ,chatelet1 
and neither ever did4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,madame  
du ,chatelet--the divine ,emilie--was   
twenty-seven and ,voltaire was          
thirty-nine when they first met4  ,he   
was living in obscure lodgings in ,paris
 for prudential reasons1 the executioner
 having just burned1 in the public      
street1 all the copies of his last book 
that could be found4  ,the ,madame      
called on him to express her            
sympathy--and congratulations4 ,she had 
written a book1 but it had not been     
burned--not even read6 ,she was tall1   
thin1 angular1 far from handsome1 but   
had beaming eyes and a face that tokened
 intellect4 ,and best of all1 her voice 
was low1 finely modulated1 and was not  
exercised more than was meet4  ,she     
leaned her chin upon her hand and looked
 at him4  ,she had met ,voltaire when   

she was a child--at least she said so1  
and he1 being a gentleman1 remembered   
perfectly4 ,she read to him a little    
manuscript she had just dashed off4 ,it 
was deep1 profound and full of          
reasons--that is the way learned women  
write--they write like professors of    
rhetoric4 ,really great men write       
lightly1 suggestively1 and with a       
certain amount of indifference1 dash1   
froth and foam4 ,when women evolve      
literary foam1 it is the sweet1 cloying1
 fixed foam of the charlotte russe--not 
the bubbling1 effervescent ,voltaire    
article4  ,could ,m4 de ,voltaire       
suggest a way in which her manuscript   
might be lightened up so the public     
executioner would deign to notice it8   
,m4 de ,voltaire responded by reading to
 her a little thing of his own4  ,the   
next day she called again4  ,some say   
that ,madame called on ,voltaire to     
secure a loan on her husband's estate at
 ,civey4 ,no matter--she got the loan4  
,doubtless she did not know where she   

was going--none of us do4 ,we are all   
sailing under sealed orders4  ,the      
,madame had been married eight years4   
,she was versed in ,latin and knew      
,italian literature4 ,she was educated2 
,voltaire was not4 ,she offered to teach
 him ,italian if he would give her      
lessons in ,english4  ,they read to each
 other things they had recently written4
 ,when men and women read to each other 
and mingle their emotions1 the          
danger-line is being reached4 ,literary 
people of the opposite sex do not really
 love each other4 ,all they desire is to
 read their manuscript aloud to a       
receptive listener4  ,thus are the      
literary germs vitalized--by giving our 
thoughts to another we really make them 
our own4 ,only well-sexed people produce
 literature--poetry is the pollen of the
 mind4 ,meter1 rhythm1 lilt and style   
are stamen1 pistil and stalk swaying in 
the warm breeze of springtime4  ,an     
order for arrest was out for ,voltaire4 
,pamphlets which he had been refused    

permission to publish in ,paris were    
printed at ,rouen and were setting all  
,paris by the ears4  ,with ,madame du   
,chatelet he fled to ,civey1 where was  
the tumbledown chateau of the           
,marquis--the ,madame's complaisant     
husband4 ,voltaire advanced the ,marquis
 sixteen hundred pounds to put the place
 in order1 and then on his own account  
fitted up two sumptuous apartments1 one 
for himself and one for ,madame4 ,the   
,marquis went away with his regiment1   
and occasionally came back and lounged  
about the chateau4 ,but ,voltaire was   
the real master of the place4  ,voltaire
 was neither domestic nor rural in his  
tastes1 but the ,du ,chatelet seemed to 
fill his cup to the brim1 and made him  
enjoy what otherwise would have been    
exile4 ,he wrote incessantly--poems1    
essays1 plays--and fired pamphlets at a 
world of fools4  ,all that he wrote     
during the day he read to ,madame at    
night4 ,one of her maids has given us a 
vivid little picture of how ,voltaire1  

at exactly eleven o'clock each night1   
would come out of hiding1 and entering  
the ,madame's room1 would partake of the
 dainty supper that was always prepared 
for him4 ,the divine ,emilie had the    
,french habit of receiving her visitors 
in bed1 and as her hours were much more 
regular than ,voltaire's1 she usually   
enjoyed a nap before he entered4 ,after 
his supper he would read aloud to her   
all he had written since they last met4 
,if the piece was dramatic he would act 
it out with roll of r's1 striding walk1 
grimace and gesticulations gracefully   
done1 for the man was an actor of rare  
talent4  ,emerson says1 ,let a man do a 
thing incomparably well1 and the world  
will make a path to his door1 though he 
live in a forest4 ,there was no lack of 
society at ,civey--the writers1 poets   
and philosophers found their way there4 
,voltaire fitted up a little private    
theater1 where his plays were given1 and
 concerts and lectures held from time to
 time4  ,the divine ,emilie's forte was 

science and mathematics--and on these   
themes she wrote much1 competing for    
prizes and winning the recognition of   
various learned societies4 ,it will be  
seen that the man and the woman were not
 in competition with each other1 which1 
perhaps1 accounts1 in degree1 for their 
firm friendship4  ,yet they did quarrel1
 too1 as true lovers will1 ,i am told4  
,but their quarreling was all done in   
,english1 so the servants and ,his      
,inertia1 the ,marquis1 did not know the
 purpose of it4 ,it is probable that the
 accounts of their misunderstandings are
 considerably exaggerated1 as the       
rehearsal of a tragedy by this pair of  
histrions would be taken by the servants
 for a sure-enough fight4  ,and they    
were always acting--often beginning     
breakfast with a stunt4 ,the ,madame    
sang well1 and her little impromptu     
arias pleased her thin little lover     
immensely and he would improvise and    
answer in kind1 and then take the part  
of an audience and applaud1 calling     

loudly1 ,bravo6 ,bravo6  ,mornings they 
would ride horseback through the winding
 woods1 or else hunt for geological and 
botanical specimens4 ,about all of      
,voltaire's science he got from the lady
 and this was true of languages as well4
  ,to a nervous1 irritable and intense  
thinker a certain amount of solitude    
seems necessary4 ,voltaire occasionally 
grew weary of the delicious quiet of    
,civey1 and the indictment against him  
having been quashed1 he would go away to
 ,paris or elsewhere4 ,on these trips if
 he did not take ,madame along she would
 grow furious1 then lacrimose and       
finally submissive--with a weepy        
protest4 ,if he failed to write her     
daily she grew hysterical4 ,two winters 
they spent together in ,paris and       
another at ,brussels4  ,a lawsuit       
involving the estate of the ,marquis du 
,chatelet1 that had been in the courts  
for eighty years1 was pushed to a       
successful issue by ,voltaire and       
,madame4 ,four hundred fifty thousand   

dollars were secured1 but of this       
,voltaire1 strangely enough1 took       
nothing4  ,that the bond between ,emilie
 and ,voltaire was very firm is shown by
 the fact that1 after they had been     
together ten years1 he declined to leave
 her to accept an invitation to visit   
,frederick the ,great at ,berlin4       
,frederick was a married man1 but his   
was a strictly bachelor court--for      
prudential reasons4 ,frederick and      
,emilie had carried on a spirited       
correspondence1 but this was as close as
 he cared for her to come to him4 ,all  
of his communications with females were 
limited to letters1 and ,voltaire once  
said that that was the reason he was    
called ,frederick the ,great4  ,madame  
du ,chatelet died when she was          
forty-two2 ,voltaire was fifty-five4    
,for fifteen years this strange and most
 romantic friendship had continued1 and 
to a degree it had worn itself out4     
,toward the last the lady had been      
exacting and dictatorial1 and thinking  

that ,voltaire had slighted her by not  
taking her more into his confidence1 she
 had accepted another lover1 a man ten  
years her junior4 ,if she had thought to
 make ,voltaire jealous1 she had        
reckoned without her host--he was       
relieved to find her fierce supervision 
relaxed4  ,when she passed away he      
worked his woe up into a pretty         
panegyric1 closed up his affairs at     
,civey1 and left there forever4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,so far as the government was concerned1
 ,voltaire seems to have passed his days
 in accepting rewards and receiving     
punishments4 ,interdict1 exile1         
ostracism were followed by honors1      
pension and office4  ,his one lasting   
love was the drama4 ,about every two    
years a swirl of excitement was caused  
at ,paris by the announcement of a new  
play by ,voltaire4 ,these plays seemed  
to appeal mostly to the nobility1 the   
clergy and those in public office4 ,and 
the object in every instance was to get 

even with somebody1 and place some one  
in a ridiculous light4 ,innocent        
historical dramas were passed by the    
censor1 and afterward it was found that 
in them some local bigwig was flayed    
without mercy4 ,then the play had to be 
withdrawn1 and all printed copies were  
burned in public1 and ,voltaire would   
flee to ,brussels or ,geneva to escape  
summary punishment4  ,however1 he never 
fooled all of the people all of the     
time4 ,there was always a goodly number 
of dignitaries who richly enjoyed the   
drubbing he gave the other fellow1 and  
these would gloat in inward glee over   
the ,voltaire ribaldry until it came    
their turn4 ,then the other side would  
laugh4 ,the fact is1 ,voltaire always   
represented a constituency1 otherwise   
his punishment might have been genuine1 
instead of forty lashes with a feather1 
well laid on4  ,about the time ,madame  
du ,chatelet passed away1 ,voltaire     
seemed to be enjoying a period of kingly
 favor4 ,he had been made a ,knight of  

the ,bedchamber and also                
,historiographer of ,france4 ,the chief 
duty of the first office consisted in   
signing the monthly voucher for salary1 
and the other was about the same as     
,poet ,laureate--with salary in inverse 
ratio to responsibility4 ,it was        
considered1 however1 that the holder of 
these offices was one of the ,king's    
family1 and therefore was bound to      
indulge in no unseemly antics4  ,on     
,june ,twenty-sixth1 ,seventeen ,hundred
 ,fifty1 ,voltaire applied to the ,king 
in person for permission to visit       
,frederick of ,prussia4  ,tradition has 
it that the ,king replied promptly1 ,you
 may go--the sooner the better--and you 
may remain as long as you choose4       
,voltaire pocketed the veiled acerbity  
without a word1 and bowing himself out1 
made hot haste to pack up and be on his 
way before an order rescinding the      
permission was issued4  ,frederick was a
 freethinker1 a scientist1 a poet1 and a
 wit well worthy of the companionship of

 ,voltaire4 ,in fact1 they were very    
much alike4 ,both had the dual qualities
 of being intensely practical and yet   
iconoclastic4 ,both were witty1 affable1
 seemingly indifferent and careless1 but
 yet always with an eye on the main     
chance4 ,each was small1 thin and bony1 
but both had the intellect of the lean  
and hungry ,cassius that looked quite   
through the deeds of man4  ,frederick   
received ,voltaire with royal honors4   
,princes1 ministers of state1 grandees  
and generals high in office1 knelt on   
one knee as he passed4 ,frederick tried 
to make it appear that ,france had      
failed to appreciate her greatest       
philosopher1 and so he had come to      
,prussia--the home of letters4 ,his     
pension was fixed at twenty thousand    
francs a year1 he was given the ,golden 
,key of ,chamberlain1 and the ,grand    
,cross of the ,order of ,merit4 ,he was 
a member of the ,king's household1 and  
was the nearest and dearest friend of   
the royal person4  ,frederick thought he

 had bound the great man to him for     
life4  ,personality repels as well as   
attracts4 ,voltaire's viper-like pen was
 never idle4 ,he wrote little plays for 
the court1 and these were presented with
 much eclat1 the author superintending  
their presentation1 and considerately   
taking minor parts himself1 so as to    
divide the honors4 ,but amateur         
theatricals stand for heart-burnings and
 jealousy4 ,the ,german poets were      
scored1 other writers ridiculed1 and big
 scientists came in for their share of  
pen-pricking4  ,voltaire corrected the  
,king's manuscript and taught him the   
secret of literary style4 ,then they    
fell into a controversy1 done in ,caslon
 old-style1 thundering against each     
other's theories in pamphlets across    
seas of misundertandings4 ,neither side 
publicly avowed the authorship1 but     
nobody was deceived4 ,the ,king and     
,voltaire met daily at meals1 and       
carefully avoided the topics they were  
fighting out in print4  ,voltaire was   

rich and all of his wants were supplied1
 but he entered the financial lists1 and
 taking advantage of his inside         
knowledge1 speculated in scrip and got  
into a disgraceful lawsuit over the     
proceeds with a man he should never have
 known4 ,frederick was annoyed--then    
disturbed4 ,he personally chided        
,voltaire for his folly in mixing with  
the ,king's enemies4  ,voltaire had     
tired of the benevolent assimilation--he
 craved freedom4 ,a friend who loves    
you1 if he spies upon your every action1
 will become intolerable4 ,voltaire     
intimated to ,frederick that he would   
like to go4  ,but ,frederick had a great
 admiration for the man--he considered  
,voltaire the greatest living thinker1  
and to have such a one in the court     
would help give the place an atmosphere 
of learning4 ,he recognized that there  
were two ,voltaires--one covetous1      
quibbling1 spiteful and greedy2 and the 
other the peerless poet and             
philosopher--the man who hated shams and

 pretense1 and had made a brave fight   
for liberty2 the charming companion1 the
 gracious friend4 ,frederick was        
philosopher enough to realize that he   
could not have the one without the      
other--if he had the angel he must also 
tolerate the demon4 ,this he would      
do--he must have his ,voltaire1 and so  
he refused the passports asked for1 and 
sought to interest his literary lion in 
new projects4 ,finally1 court life      
became intolerable to ,voltaire1 as life
 is to anybody when he realizes that he 
is being detained against his will4     
,voltaire packed his effects1 secured a 
four-horse carriage1 and with his       
secretary1 departed by night1 without   
leaving orders where his mail should be 
forwarded4  ,when ,frederick found that 
his singing bird had flown1 he was      
furious4 ,fear had much to do with the  
matter1 for ,voltaire had taken various 
manuscripts written by the ,king1       
wherein potentates in high places were  
severely scored4 ,the first thought of  

,frederick evidently was that ,voltaire 
had really been a spy in the employ of  
the ,french government4 ,he sent        
messengers after him in hot haste--the  
fugitive was overtaken1 and arrested4   
,his luggage was searched1 and after    
being detained at ,frankfort for three  
weeks he was allowed to depart for      
pastures new4  ,the news of his flight1 
arrest and disgrace became the gossip of
 every court of ,christendom4 ,who was  
disgraced more by the arrest--,voltaire 
or ,frederick--the world has not yet    
decided4 ,carlyle deals with the subject
 in detail in his ,life of ,frederick1  
and exonerates the ,king4 ,but ,taine   
says ,carlyle wrote neither history nor 
poetry1 and certainly we do not consider
 the sage of ,cheyne ,row an impartial  
judge4  ,voltaire took time to cool1 and
 then wrote a history of the affair     
which is published in his ,my ,private  
,life1 that is one of the most delicious
 pieces of humor ever written4 ,that he 
should have looked forward to life at   

the ,prussian ,court as the ideal1 and  
then after bravely enduring it for three
 years1 make his escape by night1 was   
only a huge joke4 ,nothing else could   
have been expected1 he says4 ,men of    
fifty should know that environment does 
not make heaven1 and people who expect  
other people to make paradise for them  
are forever doomed to wander without the
 walls4  ,voltaire acknowledges that he 
got better treatment than he deserved1  
and makes no apology for working the    
whole affair up into good copy4 ,the    
final proof that ,voltaire was a true   
philosopher is that he was able to laugh
 at himself4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,when ,voltaire   
left ,prussia1 it was voluntary exile4  
,paris was forbidden--all of ,france was
 for him unsafe2 ,england he had        
hopelessly offended4 ,by slow stages he 
made his way to ,switzerland4 ,but on   
the way there his courage failed him and
 he wrote back to ,frederick1 suggesting
 reconciliation4 ,but ,frederick        

promptly reminded him that he had       
repeatedly broken promises by writing   
about ,frederick's personal friends1 and
 ,voltaire and ,frederick had better    
keep apart1 that their love for each    
other might not grow cold--a subtle bit 
of sarcasm4  ,at ,geneva1 where ,calvin 
had instituted a little tyranny of his  
own1 ,voltaire was made welcome4        
,nominally no ,catholics were allowed in
 ,geneva1 and when ,voltaire wrote to   
the authorities1 explaining that he was 
a good ,catholic1 the matter was taken  
as a great joke4 ,he bought a beautiful 
little farm a few miles away1 on the    
banks of the river ,rhone1 overlooking  
the city of ,geneva and the lake4 ,it   
was an ideal spot1 and rightly he called
 it ,delices4 ,here he was going to end 
his days amid flowers and birds and     
books and bees1 an onlooker and possibly
 a commentator on the times1 but not a  
doer4 ,his days of work were over4 ,of  
the world of strife he had had          
enough--thus he wrote to ,frederick4    

,visitors of a literary turn of mind at 
,geneva began to come his way4 ,he      
established an inn1 and later built a   
theater out of the ruins of an old      
church that he had bought and           
dismantled4 ,this is what ,i am going to
 do with all the churches in ,france1 he
 explained with a smile4  ,his pen was  
never idle4 ,he wrote plays that were   
presented at his own little theater1 and
 on such occasions he would send word to
 his ,geneva friends not to come1 as    
they could not be accommodated4 ,of     
course they came4  ,he wrote a history  
of ,peter the ,great1 and this brought  
him into communication with ,queen      
,catherine of ,russia1 with whom he     
carried on quite an animated            
correspondence4 ,this worthy widow      
invited him to ,saint ,petersburg1 and  
he slyly wrote to ,frederick for advice 
as to whether he should go or not4 ,it  
is said that ,frederick advised him to  
go1 pay court to the ,queen1 marry her1 
seize the throne1 and get his head cut  

off for his pains1 thus achieving       
immortality and benefiting the world at 
one stroke4  ,voltaire had no intention 
of going to ,saint ,petersburg2 he had  
created a little ,court of ,letters1 of 
which he himself was the ,czar1 and for 
the first time in his life he was       
experiencing a degree of genuine        
content4 ,his flowers1 bees1 manuscripts
 and theater filled every moment of the 
day from six in the morning until ten at
 night4 ,he had arrived in ,switzerland 
broken in health1 with mind dazed1 his  
frail body undone4 ,there at the little 
farm at ,delices1 overlooking the lake1 
health came back and youth seemed to    
return to this man of three-score4      
,some of the nobility in ,paris1 to whom
 he had loaned money1 took advantage of 
his exile to withhold payments1 but     
,voltaire secured an agent to look after
 his affairs1 so his losses were not    
great4  ,he bought the tumbledown       
chateau of ,tournay1 near at hand1 which
 carried with it the right to call      

himself ,count ,tournay4 ,frederick1    
with mock respect1 so addressed his     
letters4  ,his next financial venture1  
begun when he was sixty-eight1 might    
well have tested the strength of a much 
younger man4 ,a few miles from ,geneva1 
at ,ferney1 just over the border from   
,switzerland1 ,voltaire had bought a    
large tract of waste land1 intending to 
use it for pasturage4 ,here he built a  
cottage and lived a part of the time    
when visitors were too persistent at    
,delices4 ,ferney was on ,french soil1  
,delices in ,switzerland4 ,voltaire had 
criticized the ,protestants of ,geneva1 
and given it as his opinion that a      
,calvinistic tyranny was in no wise     
preferable to one built on ,catholicism4
 ,some then said1 ,this man is really   
what he professes--a ,catholic4 ,there  
had also been a demonstration to drive  
him out of ,switzerland1 since it was   
pretty well known that ,voltaire's      
crowds of visitors were neither         
,catholic nor ,protestant4 ,delices is  

infidelic1 was the cry1 and this        
doubtless had something to do with      
,voltaire's establishing himself at     
,ferney4 ,if ,protestant ,switzerland   
drove this ,catholic over to ,france1   
why1 ,catholic ,france would not molest 
him4  ,every country1 no matter how     
tyrannical its government1 prides itself
 on being the home of the exile1 just as
 every man thinks of himself as being   
sincere and without prejudice4  ,it is  
now believed that ,voltaire had much to 
do with inciting the civil riots in     
,geneva against the ,catholics4 ,he had 
circulated pamphlets purporting to be   
written by a ,catholic1 upholding the   
,pope1 and ridiculing most unmercifully 
the pretenses of ,protestantism1        
declaring it a compromise with the      
devil1 made up of the scum of the       
,catholic ,church4 ,this pamphlet       
declared ,calvin a monster1 and         
arraigned him for burning ,servetus1 and
 hinted that all ,calvinists would soon 
be paid back in their own coin4 ,no one 

else could have penned this vitriolic   
pamphlet but ,voltaire--he knew both    
sides4 ,but since ,geneva regarded      
,voltaire as an infidel1 it never       
occurred to the authorities that he     
would take up the cudgel of the         
,catholic ,church that had burned his   
books4 ,the real fact was1 the pamphlet 
wasn't a defense of ,catholicism--it was
 only a drubbing of ,calvinism1 and the 
wit was too subtle for the              
,presbyterians to digest4  ,very soon   
another pamphlet appeared1 answering the
 first4 ,it arraigned the ,catholics in 
scathing phrase1 suggested that they    
were getting ready to burn the          
city--hinted at a repetition of ,saint  
,bartholomew1 and declared the order had
 gone forth from ,rome to scourge and   
kill4 ,it was as choice an ,a4,p4,a4    
document as was ever issued by a        
relentless joker4 ,the result was that  
the workers in the watch-factory and    
silk-mills who were ,catholics found    
themselves ostracized by the ,protestant

 workmen4 ,i do not find that the       
authorities drove the ,catholics out of 
,geneva1 it was simply a species of     
labor trouble--,protestants would not   
work with ,catholics4  ,at this juncture
 ,voltaire comes in1 and invites all    
persecuted ,catholic watch-workers and  
silk-weavers to move to ,ferney4 ,here  
,voltaire laid out a town--erected      
houses1 factories1 churches and schools4
 ,in two years he had built up a town of
 twelve hundred people1 and had a       
watch-factory and silk-mill in full and 
paying operation4  ,the problem of every
 manufacturer is to sell his            
wares--,voltaire knew how to release    
purse-strings of friends and enemies    
alike4 ,he sent watches to all of his   
enemies in ,paris1 bishops1 priests and 
potentates1 explaining that he had quit 
literature forever1 and was now engaged 
in helping struggling1 exiled ,catholics
 to get an honest living--he was doing  
penance as foreman of a                 
watch-factory--would the ,most ,reverend

 not help in this worthy work8 ,money   
flowed in on ,ferney--,frederick ordered
 a consignment of watches1 ,queen       
,catherine did the same1 and the ,bishop
 of ,paris sent his blessing and an     
order for enough silk to keep           
,voltaire's factory going for six       
months4  ,voltaire really got the pick  
of the workmen of ,geneva--the goods    
made were of the best1 and while at     
first ,catholics only were employed1 yet
 in five years ,ferney was quite as much
 ,protestant as ,catholic4 ,voltaire    
respected the religious beliefs of his  
workmen1 and there was liberty for all4 
,he paid better wages and treated his   
workers better than they had ever been  
treated in ,geneva4 ,voltaire built     
houses for his people and allowed them  
to pay him in monthly instalments4 ,and 
not only did he himself make much money 
out of his ,ferney investment1 but he   
established the town upon such a safe   
financial basis that its prosperity     
endures even unto this day4         99  

99       99       99       99  ,it was  
at ,ferney1 in his old age1 that        
,voltaire first made open war upon      
revealed religion4 ,all religions that  
professed a miraculous origin were to   
him baneful in the extreme1 the foes of 
light and progress1 the enemies of      
mankind4 ,he did not perceive1 as modern
 psychology does1 that the period of    
supernaturalism is the childhood of the 
mind4 ,myths and fairy-tales are not of 
themselves base--the injury lies with   
the men who seek to profit by these     
things1 and build up a tyranny founded  
on innocence and ignorance--seeking to  
perpetuate these things1 issuing threats
 against growth1 and offers of reward to
 all who stand still4  ,voltaire called 
superstition ,the ,infamy1 and he       
summoned the thinkers of the world to   
crush it beneath a heel of scorn4       
,letters1 pamphlets1 plays1 essays1 were
 sent out in various languages1 by his  
own printing-presses4 ,the wit of the   
man--his scathing mockery--were weapons 

no one could wield in reply4 ,the       
priests and preachers did not answer    
him--they could not--they only grew     
purple with wrath and hissed4  ,says    
,victor ,hugo1 ,jesus wept2 ,voltaire   
smiled4 ,to which ,bernard ,shaw has    
recently rejoined1 ,jesus wept2         
,voltaire smiled2 ,william ,morris      
worked4  ,from the prosperity1 peace and
 security of ,ferney1 ,voltaire pointed 
a bony finger at every hypocrite in     
,christendom1 and laughed his mocking   
smile4 ,the man expressed himself1 and  
happiness lies in that and nothing else4
 ,misery comes from lack of full1 free  
self-expression1 and from nothing else4 
,the man who fights for freedom fights  
for the right of self-expression for    
himself and others--and immortality lies
 in nothing else4  ,there is no fight   
worth making--no struggle worth the     
while--save the struggle for freedom4   
,no name is honored among men--no name  
lives--save the name of the man who     
worked for liberty and light--who has   

fought freedom's fight4  ,run the list  
in your mind of the names that are      
immortal1 and you will recall only those
 of men who have widened the horizon for
 other men1 and that select number who  
are remembered in infamy because they   
linked their names with greatness by    
doubting1 denying1 betraying and        
persecuting it--deathless through       
disgrace4  ,voltaire sided with the     
weak1 the defenseless1 the fallen4 ,he  
demanded that men should not be hounded 
for their belief1 that they should not  
be arrested without cause and without   
knowing why1 and without letting their  
friends know why4 ,we realize his       
faults1 we know his imperfections and   
limitations1 yet1 through his influence1
 life throughout the world became safer1
 liberty dearer1 freedom a more sacred  
thing4 ,his words were a battery that   
eventually razed the walls of the       
,bastile1 and best of all1 freed        
countless millions from theological     
superstition1 that ,bastile of the      

brain4     ,,herbert ,,spencer          
,what knowledge is of most worth8 ,the  
uniform reply is3 ,science4      ,this  
is the verdict on all counts4 ,for      
direct self-preservation1 or      the   
maintenance of life and health1 the     
all-important knowledge                 
is--science4 ,for that indirect         
self-preservation which we call         
gaining a livelihood1 the knowledge of  
greatest value is--science4      ,for   
the discharge of parental functions1 the
 proper guidance is to      be found    
only in science4 ,for the interpretation
 of national life1      past and        
present1 without which the citizen can  
not rightly      regulate his conduct1  
the indispensable key is--science4      
,alike for      the most perfect        
production and present enjoyment of art 
in all its      forms1 the needful      
preparation is still--science4 ,and for 
purposes      of                        
discipline--intellectual1 moral1        
religious--the most efficient      study

 is1 once more--science4                
--,essay on ,education  ,illustration3  
,,herbert ,,spencer   ,in ,derby1       
,england1 ,april ,twenty-seventh1       
,eighteen ,hundred ,twenty1 ,herbert    
,spencer1 the only child of his parents1
 was born4 ,his mother died in his      
childhood1 so he really never had any   
vivid recollection of her1 but hearsay1 
fused with memory and ideality1         
vitalized all4 ,and thus to him1 to the 
day of his death1 his mother stood for  
gentleness1 patience1 tenderness1       
intuitive insight1 and a love that never
 grew faint4 ,man makes his mother in   
his own image4  ,herbert ,spencer's     
father was a school-teacher1 and in very
 moderate circumstances4 ,little        
,herbert could not remember when he did 
not go to school1 and yet as a real     
scholar1 he never went to school at all4
 ,the family lived over the schoolroom1 
and while the youngster yet wore dresses
 his father would hold him in his arms1 
and carry him around the room as he     

instructed his classes4 ,william ,george
 ,spencer was both father and mother to 
,herbert1 and used to sing to him       
lullabies as the sun went down4  ,after 
school there were always walks afield1  
and in the evening the brother of the   
school-master would call1 and then there
 was much argument as to ,why and ,what1
 ,whence and ,whither4  ,people talk    
gossip1 we are told1 for lack of a      
worthy theme4 ,these two ,spencers--one 
a school-master and the other a         
clergyman--found the time too short for 
their discussions4 ,in their walks and  
talks they were always examining1       
comparing1 classifying1 selecting1      
speculating4 ,flowers1 plants1 bugs1    
beetles1 birds1 trees1 weeds1 earth and 
rocks were scrutinized and analyzed4    
,where did it come from8 ,how did it get
 here8  ,i am told that lions never send
 their cubs away to be educated by a    
cubless lioness and an emasculated lion4
 ,the lion learns by first playing at   
the thing and then doing it4  ,a        

motherless boy1 brought up by an        
indulgent father1 one might prophesy1   
would be sure to rule the father and be 
spoiled himself through omission of the 
rod4 ,but in the boy problem all signs  
fail4 ,the father taught by exciting    
curiosity and animating his pupils to   
work out problems and make              
discoveries--keeping his discipline well
 out of sight4 ,how well the plan worked
 is revealed in the life of ,herbert    
,spencer himself2 and his book1         
,education1 is based on the ideas       
evolved by his father1 to whom he gives 
much credit4 ,no man ever had so divine 
a right to compile a book on education  
as ,herbert ,spencer1 for he proved in  
his own life every principle he laid    
down4  ,on all excursions ,herbert was  
taken along--because he couldn't be left
 at home1 you know4 ,he listened to the 
conversations and learned by hearing the
 older pupils recite4  ,all out-of-doors
 was fairyland to him--a curiosity-shop 
filled with wonderful things--over your 

head1 under your feet1 all around was   
life--action1 pulsing life1 everything  
in motion--going somewhere1 evolving    
into something else4  ,this habit of    
observation1 adoration and              
wonder--filled with pleasurable emotions
 and recollections from the             
first--lasted the man through life1 and 
allowed him1 even with a frail          
constitution1 to round out a long period
 of severe mental work1 with never a    
tendency to die at the top4  ,herbert   
,spencer never wrote a thing more true  
than this3 ,the man to whom in boyhood  
information came in dreary tasks1 along 
with threats of punishment1 is unlikely 
to be a student in after-years2 while   
those to whom it came in natural forms1 
at the proper times1 and who remember   
its facts as not only interesting in    
themselves1 but as a long series of     
gratifying successes1 are likely to     
continue through life that              
self-instruction begun in youth4  ,when 
thirteen years old ,herbert went to live

 with his uncle1 the ,reverend ,thomas  
,spencer1 at ,bath4 ,here the same      
methods of education were continued that
 had been begun at home--conversation1  
history in the form of story-telling1   
walks and talks1 and mathematical       
calculations carried out as pleasing    
puzzles4 ,in mathematics the boy made   
rapid progress1 but the faculty of      
observation was the dominant one4 ,every
 phase of cloud and sky1 of water and   
earth1 rock and mountain1 bird and bush1
 plant and tree1 was curious to him4 ,he
 kept a journal of his observations1    
which had the double advantage of       
deepening his impressions by recounting 
them1 and second1 it taught him the use 
of language4  ,the best way to learn to 
write is to write4 ,herbert ,spencer    
never studied grammar until he had      
learned to write4 ,he took his grammar  
at sixty1 which is a good age to begin  
this interesting study1 as by that time 
you have largely lost your capacity to  
sin4 ,men who swim exceedingly well are 

not those who have taken courses in the 
theory of swimming at natatoriums from  
professors of the amphibian art--they   
were boys who just jumped in4           
,correspondence-schools for the taming  
of broncos are as naught2 and treatises 
on the gentle art of wooing are of no   
avail--follow ,nature's lead4 ,grammar  
is the appendenda vermiformis of        
pedagogics3 it is as useless as the     
letter q in the alphabet1 or as the     
proverbial two tails to a cat1 which no 
cat ever had1 and the finest cat in the 
world1 the ,manx cat1 has no tail at    
all4  ,the literary style of most       
university men is commonplace1 when not 
positively bad1 wrote ,herbert ,spencer 
in his old age4 ,educated ,englishmen   
all write alike1 said ,taine4 ,that is  
to say1 they have no literary style1 for
 style is character1 individuality--the 
style is the man4 ,and grammar tends to 
obliterate all individuality4 ,no study 
is so irksome to everybody1 except to   
the sciolists who teach it1 as grammar4 

,it remains forever a bad taste in the  
mouth of the man of ideas1 and has      
weaned bright minds innumerable from all
 desire to express themselves through   
the written word4 ,grammar is the       
etiquette of words1 and the man who does
 not know how to properly salute his    
grandmother on the street until he has  
consulted a book1 is always so troubled 
about his tenses that his fancies break 
through language and escape4  ,orators  
who keep their thoughts upon the proper 
way to gesticulate in curves impress    
nobody4 ,if poor grammar were a sin     
against decency1 or an attempt to poison
 the minds of the people1 it might be   
wise enough to hire men to protect the  
well of ,english from defilement4 ,but a
 stationary language is a dead          
one--moving water only is pure--and the 
well that is not fed by springs is a    
breeding-place for disease4 ,let men    
express themselves in their own way1 and
 if they express themselves poorly1 look
 you1 their punishment shall be that no 

one will read them4 ,oblivion1 with her 
smother-blanket1 waits for the writer   
who has nothing to say and says it      
faultlessly4 ,in the making of          
hare-soup1 ,i am told the first         
requisite is to catch your hare4 ,the   
literary scullion who has anything to   
offer a hungry world will doubtless find
 a way to fricassee it4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,when    
seventeen1 ,herbert ,spencer was        
apprenticed to a surveyor on the ,london
 and ,birmingham ,railway4 ,the pay was 
meager--board and keep and five pounds  
for the first year1 with ten pounds the 
second year if he deserved it4 ,however1
 school-teachers and clergymen are used 
to small reward1 and to make a living   
for one's self was no small matter to   
the ,spencers4 ,the youth who has gotten
 his physical growth should earn his own
 living1 this as a necessary factor in  
his further mental evolution4  ,neither 
,william ,george ,spencer1 ,herbert's   
father1 nor ,thomas1 his uncle1 seemed  

ever to anticipate that they were       
helping to develop the greatest thinker 
of his time4 ,they themselves were      
obscure men1 and quite happy therein1   
and if young ,herbert could attain to a 
fair degree of physical health1 make his
 living as an honest surveyor or as a   
teacher of mathematics1 it would be all 
one could reasonably hope for4 ,and thus
 they lived out the measure of their    
days1 and passed away unaware that this 
boy they claimed in partnership was to  
be the maker of an epoch4  ,young       
,spencer began his surveying work by    
carrying a flag1 and soon he was        
advanced to chainman4 ,his skill in     
mathematics made his services valuable1 
and his willingness to sit up nights and
 work out the measurements of the day1  
so pleased his employer that the letter 
of the contract was waived and he was   
paid ten pounds for his first year's    
work1 instead of five4 ,he invented     
shorter methods for bridges and         
culverts1 and ,i believe was the first  

engineer to build a cantilever          
railroad-bridge in ,england4  ,when he  
was twenty-one he had so thoroughly     
mastered the work that his employers    
offered to place him in charge of a     
construction-gang at a salary of two    
hundred pounds a year1 which was then   
considered high pay4 ,he1 however1 loved
 liberty more than money1 and his tastes
 were in the direction of invention and 
science1 rather than in working out an  
immediate practical success for himself4
  ,he returned home and invented a      
scheme for making type2 and had another 
plan for watchmaking1 which he          
illustrated with painstaking designs4   
,half of his time was spent in the      
fields1 and he made a large botanical   
collection--indexing it carefully1 with 
many notes and comments4  ,he also wrote
 articles for the ,civil ,engineers' and
 ,artisans' ,journal4 ,for these he     
received no pay1 but the acceptance of  
manuscript gives a great glow to a      
writer's cosmos3 young ,spencer was     

encouraged in the belief that he had    
something to offer the public4 ,but his 
father and kinsmen saw only failure in  
these days of dawdling2 and the money   
being gone1 ,herbert ,spencer1 aged     
twenty-two1 went up to ,london to try to
 get a renewal of the offer from his old
 employer4  ,but things had             
changed--chances gone are gone forever1 
and he was told that opportunity knocks 
but once at each man's door4 ,sadly he  
returned home--not disappointed in      
himself1 but depressed that he should   
disappoint others4 ,his inventions      
languished--nobody was interested in    
them4  ,to get a living was the problem1
 and writing seemed the only way4 ,and  
so he prepared a series of articles for 
,the ,non-,conformist1 and there was    
enough non-conformity in them so he was 
paid a small sum for his work4 ,it      
proved this1 though--he could get a     
living by his pen4  ,in these           
,non-,conformist articles1 ,spencer put 
forth a daring statement concerning the 

evolution of the soldier1 that          
straightway made him a few enemies1 and 
gave his clerical uncle gooseflesh4 ,his
 hypothesis was this3 ,when man first   
evolved out of the ,stone ,age1 and     
began to live in villages1 the oldest   
and wisest individual was regarded as   
patriarch or chief4 ,this chief         
appointed certain men to punish         
wrongdoers and keep order4 ,but there   
were always a few who would not work and
 who1 through their violence and        
contumacious spirit1 were finally driven
 from the camp4 ,or more likely they    
fled to escape punishment--which is the 
same thing--for they were outcasts4     
,these men found refuge in the mountain 
fastnesses and congregated for two      
reasons--one1 so they could avoid       
capture1 and the other so they could    
swoop down and secure their own4        
,robbery and commerce came hand in hand1
 and piracy is almost as natural as     
production4  ,finally1 the robbers      
became such a problem to industry that  

terms were made with them4 ,their       
tribute took the form of a tax1 and to  
make sure that this tax was paid1 the   
robbers protected the people against    
other robbers4 ,and then1 for the first 
time1 the world saw a standing army4 ,an
 army has two purposes--to protect the  
people1 and to collect the tax for      
protecting the people4  ,at the         
headquarters of this army grew up a     
court1 and all the magnificent splendor 
of a capitol centered around the        
captains4 ,in fact1 the word capitol    
means the home of the captain4  ,herbert
 ,spencer did not say that a soldier was
 a respectable brigand1 and that a      
lawyer is a man who protects us from    
lawyers1 but he came so close to it that
 his immediate friends begged him to    
moderate his expressions for his own    
safety4  ,spencer also at the same time 
traced the evolution of the priest4 ,he 
showed how the holy man was one frenzied
 with religious ecstasy1 who went away  
and lived in a cave4 ,occasionally this 

man came back to beg1 to preach and to  
do good4 ,in order to succeed in his    
begging1 he revealed his peculiar       
psychic powers1 and then reinforced     
these with claims of supernatural       
abilities4 ,these claims were not       
exactly founded upon truth1 but once put
 forth were in time believed by those   
who advanced them4  ,this priest1 who   
claimed to have influence with the power
 of the ,unseen1 found early favor with 
the soldier--and the soldier and the    
priest naturally joined hands4 ,the     
soldier protected the priest and the    
priest absolved the soldier4 ,one       
dictated man's place in this world--the 
other in the next4  ,the calm way in    
which ,herbert ,spencer reasoned these  
things out1 and his high literary style1
 which made him unintelligible to all   
those whose minds were not of scientific
 bent1 and his emphatic statement that  
what is1 is right1 and all the steps in 
man's development mean a mounting to    
better things1 saved him from the severe

 treatment that greeted1 say1 ,charles  
,bradlaugh1 who translated the higher   
criticisms for the hoi polloi4          
,spencer's first essays on ,the ,proper 
,sphere of ,government1 done in his     
early twenties for ,the ,non-,conformist
 and ,the ,economist1 outlined his      
occupation for life--he was to be a     
writer4 ,he became assistant editor of  
the ,westminster ,review1 and           
contributed to various literary and     
scientific journals4  ,these essays1    
enlarged1 rewritten and revised1 finally
 emerged in ,eighteen ,hundred          
,fifty-one in the form of ,social       
,statics1 or the ,conditions ,essential 
to ,human ,happiness4  ,this book1 so   
bold in its radical suggestions1 now    
almost universally admitted1 was printed
 at the author's expense--a fact that   
should put a quietus for all time upon  
all those indelicate and sarcastic      
allusions concerning when the author    
prints4 ,there was an edition of seven  
hundred fifty copies of the book1 and it

 took every shilling the young man had  
saved1 and a few borrowed pounds as     
well1 to pay the bill4  ,the book made  
no splash in the literary sea--nobody   
read it except a dozen good people who  
did so as a matter of friendship4       
,after six years there were still five  
hundred copies left1 and the author     
wrote this slightly ironical line3 ,i am
 glad the public is taking plenty of    
time to fully digest my work before     
passing judgment upon it4 ,of all       
things1 hasty criticisms are to be      
regretted4  ,yet there was one person   
who read ,herbert ,spencer's first book 
with close consideration and profound   
sympathy4 ,this was a young woman1 the  
same age as ,spencer1 who had come up to
 ,london from the country to make her   
fortune4 ,her name was ,mary ,ann       
,evans4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,in ,notes and ,comments1  
,spencer's last book1 published two     
years before his death1 are several     
quotations and allusions to ,george     

,eliot4 ,no other woman is mentioned in 
the volume4  ,herbert ,spencer and ,mary
 ,ann ,evans first met at the house of  
the editor of the ,westminster ,review  
about the year ,eighteen ,hundred       
,fifty-one4 ,their tastes1 aptitudes and
 inclinations were much the same4 ,they 
were born the same year2 both were      
brought up in the country2 both were    
naturalists by inclination1 and         
scientists because they could not help  
it4 ,social ,statics made a profound    
impression on ,george ,eliot1 and she   
protested to the last that it was the   
best book the author ever wrote4 ,he had
 read her ,essay on ,spinoza1 and       
remembered it so well that he repeated a
 page of it the first time they met4    
,they loved the same things1 and united1
 too1 in their dislikes4 ,both were     
democrats1 and the cards1 curds and     
custards of society were to them as     
naught4 ,in a few months after the first
 meeting1 ,george ,eliot wrote to a     
friend in ,warwickshire3 ,the bright    

side of my life1 after the affection for
 my old friends1 is the new and         
delightful friendship which ,i have     
found in ,herbert ,spencer4 ,we see each
 other every day1 and in everything we  
enjoy a delightful comradeship4 ,if it  
were not for him my life would be       
singularly arid4  ,the ,synthetic       
,philosophy was taking form in          
,spencer's mind1 and together they      
threshed out the straw and garnered the 
grain4 ,she was getting to be a         
necessity to ,spencer--and he saw no    
reason why the beautiful friendship     
should not continue just this way for   
years and years4 ,both were literary    
grubbers and lived in boarding-houses of
 the ,class ,b variety4  ,and here      
,george ,henry ,lewes appeared upon the 
scene4 ,legend says that ,spencer       
introduced ,lewes to ,miss ,evans1 and  
both ,miss ,evans and ,mr4 ,spencer were
 a bit in awe of him1 for he was a      
literary success1 and they were willing 
to be4 ,lewes had written at this time  

sixteen books--novels1 essays1          
scientific treatises1 poems1 and a      
drama4 ,he spoke five languages1 had    
studied medicine1 theology1 and had been
 a lecturer and actor4 ,he was small1   
had red hair1 combed his whiskers by the
 right oblique1 and wore a yellow       
necktie4 ,thackeray says he was the most
 learned and versatile man he ever knew1
 and if ,i should see him in            
,piccadilly1 perched on a white         
elephant1 ,i would not be in the least  
surprised4  ,none of the various        
ventures of ,lewes had paid very well1  
but he had great hopes1 and money enough
 to ride in a cab4 ,he gave advice1 and 
radiated good-cheer wherever he went4   
,in ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-four      
,lewes and ,miss ,evans disappeared from
 ,london1 having gone to ,germany1      
leaving letters behind1 stating that    
thenceforward they wished to be         
considered as man and wife4 ,lewes was  
in his fortieth year1 and slightly bald2
 ,george ,eliot was thirty-six1 and     

there were silver threads among the     
gold4  ,they had taken the philosophy of
 ,social ,statics in dead earnest4      
,herbert ,spencer lost appetite1 ceased 
work1 roamed through the park aimlessly1
 and finally fell into a fit of         
sickness--night air1 and too close      
confinement to mental tasks1 the doctor 
said4  ,spencer was not a marrying      
man--he was wedded to science1 yet he   
craved the companionship of the female  
mind4 ,had he and ,miss ,evans married1 
he would doubtless have continued his   
work just the same4 ,he would have      
absorbed her into his being--they would 
have lived in a garret1 and possibly we 
might have had a better ,synthetic      
,philosophy1 if that were possible4     
,but we would have had no ,adam ,bede   
nor ,mill on the ,floss4  ,we often see 
mention1 by the ready writers1 of mental
 equals and perfect mates1 but in all   
business partnerships1 one man is the   
court of last appeal by popular acclaim4
 ,if power is absolutely equal1 the     

engine stops on the center4 ,twins may  
look exactly alike1 but one is the      
spokesman4 ,in all literary             
collaboration1 one does the work and the
 other looks on4  ,when ,george ,henry  
,lewes took ,mary ,ann ,evans as his    
wife1 that was the last of ,lewes4 ,he  
became her inspiration1 secretary1      
protector1 friend and slave4 ,and this  
was all beautiful and right4  ,i believe
 it was ,augustine ,birrell who said1   
,george ,henry ,lewes was the busy drone
 to a queen bee4 ,it probably is well   
that ,mr4 ,spencer and ,miss ,evans did 
not marry--they were too much           
alike--they might have gotten into      
competition with each other4  ,george   
,eliot had a poise and dignity in her   
character that kept the versatile ,lewes
 just where he belonged2 and at the same
 time she lived her own life and        
preserved in ascending degree the strong
 and simple beauties of her character4  
,truly was ,george ,eliot a citizen of  
the sacred city of fine minds--the      

,jerusalem of ,celestial ,art4 ,lewes   
was the tug that puffed and steamed and 
brought the majestic steamship into     
port4  ,for one book ,george ,eliot     
received a sum equal to forty thousand  
dollars1 and her income after ,adam     
,bede was published was never less than 
ten thousand dollars a year4  ,spencer  
lived out his days in the               
boarding-house1 and until after he was  
seventy1 had not reached a point where  
absolute economy was not in order4      
,spencer faced the ,universe alone1 and 
tried to solve its mysteries4 ,not only 
did he live alone1 with no close        
confidants or friends1 but when he died 
he left not a single living relative    
nearer than the fourth generation4 ,with
 him died the name4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,the leading note 
in ,social ,statics is a plea for the   
liberty of the individual4 ,that        
government is best which governs least4 
,the liberty of each1 limited only by   
the liberty of all1 is the rule to which

 society must conform in order to attain
 the highest development4 ,governments  
have no business to scrutinize the life 
and belief of the individual4           
,interference should only come where one
 man interferes with the liberties of   
another4  ,liberty of action is the     
first requisite to progress1 and the    
prime essential in human happiness4 ,it 
is better that men have wrong opinions  
than no opinions--through our blunders  
we reach the light4  ,government is for 
man1 and not man for government4 ,men   
wish to do what is best for themselves1 
and eventually they will1 if let alone1 
but they can only grow through constant 
practise and frequent mistakes4 ,plato's
 plan for an ideal republic provided    
rules and laws for the guidance of the  
individual4 ,in the ,mosaic ,laws it is 
the same3 every circumstance and        
complication of life is thought out1 and
 the law tells the individual what he   
shall do1 and what he shall not do4     
,that is to say1 a few men were to do   

the thinking for the many4 ,and the     
argument that plain people should not be
 allowed to think for themselves1 since 
the wise know better what is for their  
good1 is exactly the argument used by   
slaveholders3 that they can take better 
care of the man than the man can of     
himself4  ,there is a certain           
plausibility and truth in this          
proposition4 ,it is all a point of view4
  ,but to ,herbert ,spencer there was   
little difference between enslavement of
 the mind and enslavement of the body4  
,both were essentially wrong in         
this--they interfered with ,nature's law
 of evolution1 and anything contrary to 
,nature must pay the penalty of pain and
 death4 ,all forms of enslavement react 
upon the slaveholder1 and a society     
founded on force can not evolve--and not
 to evolve is to die4 ,the wellsprings  
of ,nature must not be dammed--and in   
fact can not be dammed but for a day4   
,overflow1 revolution and violence are  
sure to follow4 ,this is the general    

law2 and so give the man liberty4 ,one  
man's rights end only where another     
man's begin4  ,the idea of evolution1 as
 opposed to a complete creation1 was in 
the mind of ,spencer as early as        
,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-eight4 ,in    
that year he said1 ,creation still goes 
forward1 and to what supreme heights man
 may yet attain no one can say4  ,by a  
sort of general misapprehension1 ,darwin
 is usually given credit for the        
discovery and elucidation of the ,law of
 ,evolution1 but the ,origin of ,species
 did not appear until ,eighteen ,hundred
 ,fifty-nine1 and both ,spencer and     
,alfred ,russel ,wallace had stated1    
years before1 that the theological dogma
 of a complete creation had not a       
scintilla of proof from the world of    
nature and science1 while there was much
 general proof that the animal and      
vegetable kingdom had evolved from lower
 forms1 and was still ascending4  ,the  
usual idea of the clergy of ,christendom
 was that if the account of creation    

given by ,moses were admitted to be     
untrue1 then the ,bible in all its parts
 would be declared untrue1 and religion 
would go by the board4 ,now that the    
theory of evolution is everywhere       
accepted1 even in the churches1 we see  
how groundless were the fears4 ,all that
 is beautiful and best we still have in 
religion in a degree never before known4
  ,in an essay on ,manners and ,fashion1
 published in the ,westminster ,review  
of ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-four1      
,herbert ,spencer says3 ,forms1         
ceremonies and even beliefs are cast    
aside only when they become             
hindrances--only when some finer and    
better plan has been formed2 and they   
bequeath to us all the good that was in 
them4 ,the abolition of tyrannical laws 
has left the administration of justice  
not only unimpaired1 but purified4 ,dead
 and buried creeds have not carried down
 with them the essential morality they  
contained1 which still exists1          
uncontaminated by the sloughs of        

superstition4 ,and all that there is of 
justice1 kindness and beauty embodied in
 our cumbrous forms will live           
perennially1 when the forms themselves  
have been repudiated and forgotten4  ,in
 the year ,eighteen ,hundred            
,fifty-five1 ,spencer issued his        
,principles of ,psychology1 showing that
 the doctrine of evolution was then with
 him a fixed fact4 ,the struggle was on1
 and from now forward his life was      
enlisted to viewing this theory from    
every side1 anticipating every possible 
objection to it1 and restating the case 
in its relation to every phase of life  
and nature4  ,spencer's income was      
small1 but his wants were few1 and a    
single room in a boarding-house sufficed
 for both workshop and sleeping-room4   
,to a degree1 he now largely ceased     
original investigations and made use of 
the work of others4 ,his intuitive mind1
 long trained in analytical research1   
was able to sift the false from the     
true1 the trite from the peculiar1 the  

exceptional from the normal4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,the year
 ,eighteen ,hundred ,sixty should be    
marked on history's page with a silver  
star1 for it was in that year that      
,herbert ,spencer issued his famous     
prospectus setting forth that he was    
engaged in formulating a system of      
philosophy which he proposed to issue in
 periodical parts to subscribers4 ,he   
then followed with an outline of the    
ground he intended to cover4 ,ten       
volumes would be issued1 and he proposed
 to take twenty years to complete the   
task4  ,the entire ,synthetic           
,philosophy was then in his mind and he 
knew what he wanted to do4 ,the courage 
and faith of the man were dauntless4    
,michael ,rossetti once said1 ,spencer1 
,darwin1 ,huxley1 ,tyndall and ,wallace 
owe nothing to the universities of      
,england1 except for the scorn and      
opposition that have been offered them4 
,but patriotic ,americans and true are  
glad to remember that it was ,professor 

,e4 ,l4 ,youmans of ,yale who made it   
possible for ,spencer to carry out his  
great plan4 ,five years after the       
prospectus was issued1 ,spencer was     
again penniless and was thinking        
seriously of abandoning the project4    
,youmans heard of this and reissued the 
prospectus1 and sent it out among the   
thinking men of the world1 asking them  
to subscribe4 ,the announcement was then
 followed up by letters1 and ,youmans   
forced the issue until the sum of seven 
thousand dollars was raised4 ,this he   
took over to ,europe in person and      
presented to ,spencer1 with a gold watch
 and a box of cigars4 ,youmans found    
,spencer at his boarding-house1 and     
together they wandered out in the park1 
where ,youmans presented the philosopher
 the box of cigars4 ,the great man took 
out one1 cut it in three parts and      
proceeded to smoke one1 then ,youmans   
handed him the gold watch and the draft 
for the money4  ,spencer took the gifts 
of the watch and cigars and was much    

moved1 but when it was followed by the  
draft for seven thousand dollars1 he    
merely gasped and said3 ,wonderful6     
,magnificent6 ,magnificent6 ,wonderful6 
and smoked his third of a cigar in      
silence4 ,and when he spoke1 it was to  
say3 ,i think ,i will have to revise    
what ,i wrote in ',first ,principles' on
 the matter of divine providence4       
,those who have read ,spencer's will    
must remember that this watch1 presented
 to him by his ,american friends1 is    
given a special paragraph4  ,spencer    
once said to ,huxley1 ,from the day ,i  
first carried that watch1 every good    
thing ,i needed has been brought and    
laid at my feet4  ,if ,i have succeeded 
in my art1 it is simply because ,i have 
been well sustained1 said ,henry ,irving
 in one of his modest1 flattering1 yet  
charming little speeches4  ,sir ,henry  
might have gone on and said that no man 
succeeds unless well sustained1 and     
happy is that man who has radioactivity 
of spirit enough to attract to him      

loving and loyal helpers who scintillate
 his rays4  ,the average individual does
 not know very much about ,edward ,l4   
,youmans1 but no man ever did greater   
work in popularizing nature study in    
,america4 ,and if for nothing else1 let 
his name be deathless for two things3 he
 inspired ,john ,burroughs with the     
thirst to see and know--and then to     
write--and he introduced ,herbert       
,spencer to the world4 ,it is easy to   
say that ,burroughs was peeping his     
shell when ,youmans discovered him1 and 
that ,spencer would have found a way in 
any event4 ,we simply do not know what  
would have happened if something else   
occurred1 or hadn't4  ,youmans was born 
in a ,new ,york ,state country village1 
and very early discovered for himself   
that the world was full of curious and  
wonderful things1 just as most children 
do4 ,he became a district               
school-teacher1 and so far as we know1  
was the very first man to publicly      
advocate nature study as a distinctive  

means of child-growth4 ,he taught his   
children to observe2 then he gave       
lectures on elementary botany2 he       
studied and he wrote1 and he worked at  
the microscope4  ,and he became blind4  
,did the closest observer on the        
continent cease work and grow           
discouraged when sight failed8 ,not he4 
,he no more quit work than did          
,beethoven cease composing music when he
 no longer was able to hear it4  ,we    
hear with the imagination1 and we see   
with the soul4 ,youmans' sister1 ,eliza 
,anne1 became his guide and amanuensis2 
he saw the things through her eyes and  
inspected the wonders with his          
finger-tips4  ,he became professor of   
,physics and ,natural ,history at ,yale1
 and when the ,new ,england ,lecture    
,lyceum was at its height1 he rivaled   
,phillips1 ,emerson and ,beecher as a   
popular attraction4 ,he made science a  
pleasure to plain people1 and started   
,starr ,king off on that tangent of     
putting knowledge in fairylike and      

acceptable form4 ,youmans' lecture on   
,the ,chemistry of a ,sunbeam is one of 
the unforgettable things of a generation
 past1 so full of animation and rare1   
radiant spirit of good-cheer was the    
man4 ,he founded the ,popular ,science  
,monthly1 wrote a dozen books on        
science1 and several of these are now   
used in most of the colleges and        
advanced schools of ,america and        
,england4  ,the man had a head for      
business--he became rich4  ,it was about
 the year ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-six 
that ,youmans was in ,england on a      
business errand1 introducing his books  
in the ,english schools1 that he first  
met ,herbert ,spencer1 having been      
attracted to him through a chance copy  
of ,social ,statics that his sister had 
read to him4 ,youmans saw that ,spencer 
was going right to the heart of things  
in a way he himself could not4 ,the men 
became friends1 and of all ,youmans'    
wonderful discoveries1 he considered    
,herbert ,spencer the greatest4  ,sir   

,humphry ,davy discovered1 and possibly 
evolved1 ,michael ,faraday2 but ,i      
didn't evolve ,herbert ,spencer1 any    
more than ,balboa evolved the ,pacific  
,ocean1 said ,youmans at a dinner given 
to ,herbert ,spencer when he visited    
,new ,york in ,eighteen ,hundred        
,eighty-one4 ,the name of ,youmans is   
not in the ,hall of ,fame as one of the 
world's great men1 but as naturalist1   
teacher1 writer1 lecturer and practical 
man of affairs1 he reflects credit on   
his ,maker4 ,the light went out of his  
eyes1 but it never went out of his soul4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,in making payment to a             
publishing-house for sixty volumes of an
 ,american historical work1 ,speaker    
,cannon recently made this endorsement  
on the back of the check3  ,this check  
is in full payment1 both legal and      
moral1 for sixty volumes of books4 ,the 
books are not worth a damn--and are dear
 at that4 ,we are never too old to      
learn1 but the way your gentlemanly     

agent came it over your ,uncle ,joseph1 
is worth the full amount4  ,when        
,speaker ,cannon says the books are not 
worth a damn1 he does not necessarily   
state a fact about the books3 he merely 
states a fact about himself--that is1 he
 gives his opinion4 ,the value of the   
books is still undetermined4  ,the      
,speaker's discontent with the books    
seems to have arisen from the one fact  
that he had to pay for them4  ,this     
condition is a classic one1 and the     
world long ago has conceded to the man  
who pays1 the privilege of protest4     
,when ,herbert ,spencer issued that     
world-famous prospectus1 announcing his 
intention to publish ten volumes setting
 forth his ,synthetic ,philosophy1 it   
was one of the most daring things ever  
done in the realm of thought4 ,spencer  
was forty1 and he was penniless and     
obscure4 ,he had issued two books at his
 own expense1 and it had taken twelve   
years to dispose of seven hundred fifty 
copies of one1 and most of the edition  

of the other was still on hand4 ,edward 
,l4 ,youmans had such faith in ,spencer 
that he sent out the prospectus1 and    
followed it up with letters and personal
 solicitations1 until seven thousand    
dollars was subscribed1 and ,herbert    
,spencer1 relieved from the             
uncertainties of finance1 was free to   
think and write4  ,among other          
subscribers secured by ,youmans1 was the
 ,reverend ,doctor ,jowett of ,balliol4 
,spencer's books were issued in         
periodical parts4 ,after paying for     
three years1 ,jowett sent a check to the
 publishers for the full amount of the  
subscription1 saying1 in an accompanying
 note3 ,to save myself the bother of    
periodical payments for ,mr4 ,spencer's 
books1 ,i herewith hand you check       
covering the full amount of my          
subscription4 ,i feel that ,i have      
already had full returns1 for1 while the
 books are absolutely valueless1 save as
 showing the industry of an uneducated  
and indiscreet person1 yet the          

experience that has come to me in this  
transaction is not without its benefits4
  ,this is the ,oxford way of expressing
 the ,illinois formula1 ,your books are 
not worth a damn--and are dear at that4 
,but the curious part of this           
transaction is that1 after the death of 
,doctor ,jowett1 his library was sold at
 auction1 and his set of the ,synthetic 
,philosophy brought an advance of eight 
times its original cost4  ,truly my     
,lord ,hamlet doth say3    ,rashly1     
,and prais'd be rashness for it--let us 
know1   ,our indiscretion sometimes     
serves us well1   ,when our deep plots  
do fail4  ,no one man's opinion         
concerning any book1 or any man1 is     
final4 ,speaker ,cannon is admired by   
one set of men and detested by          
others--all of equal intelligence1      
although on this point the ,speaker     
might possibly file an exception4       
,books are condemned offhand1 or        
regarded as ,bibles--it all depends upon
 your point of view4 ,speaker ,cannon   

may be right in his estimate of the     
newly annexed sixty volumes of history  
that now grace his library-shelves in   
,danville1 proudly shown to             
constituents1 or he may be wrong2 but   
anyway1 ,cannon's judgment about books  
is probably worth no more than was the  
,reverend ,doctor ,jowett's4 ,gladstone 
spoke of ,jowett as that saintly        
character2 and ,disraeli called him the 
bear of ,balliol--erratic1 obtuse and   
perverse4 ,but ,jowett1 ,gladstone and  
,disraeli all united in this3 they had  
supreme contempt for the work of        
,herbert ,spencer2 while the ,honorable 
,joseph ,cannon is neutral1 but inclined
 to be generous1 having recently in a   
speech quoted from the ,faerie ,queene1 
which he declared was the best thing    
,herbert ,spencer had written1 even if  
it was not fully up to date4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,all     
during his life1 ,spencer was subject to
 attacks of indigestion and insomnia4   
,that these bad spells were a disease of

 the imagination made them no less real4
 ,his isolation and lack of social ties 
gave him time to feel his pulse and lie 
in wait for sleepless nights4  ,with the
 old ladies of his boarding-house1 he   
was on friendly terms1 and his          
commonplace talk with them never gave   
them a guess concerning the worldwide   
character of his work4 ,very seldom did 
he refer to what he was doing and       
thinking--and then only among his most  
intimate friends4 ,huxley was his       
nearest confidant2 and a recent writer1 
who knew him closely in a business way  
for many years1 says that only with     
,huxley did he throw off his reserve and
 enter the social lists with abandon4   
,no one could meet ,spencer1 even in the
 most casual way1 without being         
impressed with the fact that he was in  
the presence of a most superior person4 
,the man was tall and gaunt1            
self-contained--a little aloof--he asked
 for nothing1 and realized his own      
worth4 ,he commanded respect because he 

respected himself--there was neither    
abnegation1 apology nor abasement in his
 manner4 ,once ,i saw him walking in the
 ,strand1 and ,i noticed that the       
pedestrians instinctively made way1     
although probably not one out of a      
thousand had any idea who he was4 ,no   
one ever affronted him1 nor spoke       
disrespectfully to his face2 if unkind  
things were said of the man and his     
work1 it was in print and at a distance4
  ,his standard of life was high--his   
sense of justice firm2 with pretense and
 hypocrisy he had little patience1 while
 for the criminal he had a profound     
pity4  ,music was to him a relaxation   
and a rest4 ,he knew the science of     
composition1 and was familiar in detail 
with the best work of the great         
composers4  ,in order to preserve the   
quiet of his thoughts in the            
boarding-house1 he devised a pair of    
ear-muffs which fitted on his head with 
a spring4  ,if the conversation took a  
turn in which he had no interest1 he    

would excuse himself to his nearest     
neighbor and put on his ear-muffs4 ,the 
plan worked so well that he carried them
 with him wherever he went1 and         
occasionally at lectures or concerts1   
when he would grow more interested in   
his thoughts than in the performance1 he
 would adjust his patent4  ,so well     
pleased was he with his experiment that 
he had a dozen pairs of the ear-muffs   
made one ,christmas and gave them to    
friends1 but it is hardly probable they 
had the hardihood to carry them to a    
,four-o',clock4 ,seldom1 indeed1 is     
there a man who prizes his thoughts more
 than a polite appearance4  ,in an      
address before the ,london ,medical     
,society1 in ,eighteen ,hundred         
,seventy-one1 ,spencer said1 ,the man   
who does not believe in devils during   
his life1 will probably never be visited
 by devils on his deathbed4 ,herbert    
,spencer died ,december ,eighth1        
,nineteen ,hundred ,three1 in his       
eighty-fourth year4 ,up to within two   

days of his death1 his mind was clear1  
active and alert1 and he worked at his  
books with pleasure and                 
animation--revising1 correcting and     
amending4 ,he never lost the calm       
serenity of life4 ,he sank gradually    
into sleep and passed painlessly away4  
,and thus was gracefully rounded out the
 greatest life of its age--,the ,age of 
,herbert ,spencer4  ,he left no request 
as to where he should be buried1 but the
 thinking people who recognized his     
genius considered ,westminster ,abbey   
the fitting place--an honor to          
,england's ,valhalla4 ,the ,church of   
,england denied him a place there before
 it was asked1 and the hallowed         
precincts which shelter the remains of  
,queen ,anne's cook and ,john ,broughton
 the pugilist are not for ,herbert      
,spencer4 ,his dust does not rest in    
consecrated ground4  ,herbert ,spencer  
had no titles nor degrees--he belonged  
to no sect1 party1 nor society4         
,practically1 he had no recognition in  

,england until after he was sixty years 
of age4 ,america first saw his star in  
the east1 and long before the first     
edition of ,social ,statics had been    
sold1 we waived the matter of copyright 
and were issuing the book here4 ,on     
receiving a volume of the pirated       
edition1 the author paraphrased ,byron's
 famous mot1 and grimly said1 ,now1     
,barabbas was an ,american4  ,however1  
,spencer was really pleased to think    
that ,america should steal his book2 we 
wanted it--the ,english didn't4 ,it took
 him twelve years to dispose of the     
seven hundred fifty volumes1 and most of
 these were given away as inscribed     
copies4 ,they lasted about as long as   
,walt ,whitman's first edition of       
,leaves of ,grass1 although ,whitman had
 the assistance of the                  
,attorney-,general of ,massachusetts in 
advertising his remarkable volume4      
,henry ,thoreau's first book fared      
better1 for when the house burned where 
the remnant of four hundred copies      

lingered long1 he wrote to a friend1    
,thank ,god1 the edition is exhausted4  
,england recognized the worth of        
,thoreau and ,whitman long before       
,america did2 and so1 perhaps1 it was   
meet that we should do as much for      
,spencer1 ,ruskin and ,carlyle4  ,one of
 the most valuable of the many great    
thoughts evolved by ,spencer was on the 
,art of ,mentation1 or brain-building4  
,you can not afford to fix your mind on 
devils or hell1 or on any other form of 
fear1 hate and revenge4 ,of course1 hell
 is for others1 and the devils we       
believe in are not for ourselves4 ,but  
the thoughts of these things are        
registered in the brain1 and the hell we
 create for others1 we ourselves        
eventually fall into2 and the devils we 
conjure forth1 return and become our    
inseparable companions4 ,that is to say1
 all thought and all work--all          
effort--are for the doer primarily1 and 
as a man thinketh in his heart1 so is   
he4 ,this sounds like the language of   

metaphysics1 which ,kant said was the   
science of disordered moonshine4 ,but   
,herbert ,spencer's work was all a      
matter of analytical demonstration4 ,and
 while the word materialist was         
everywhere applied to him1 and he did   
not resent it1 yet he was one of the    
most spiritual of men4 ,a meta-physician
 is one who proves ten times as much as 
he believes2 a scientist is one who     
believes ten times as much as he can    
prove4 ,science speaks with lowered     
voice4 ,before ,spencer's time1 ,german 
scientists had discovered that the cell 
was the anatomical unit of life1 but it 
was for ,spencer to show that it was    
also the psychologic or spiritual unit4 
,new thoughts mean new brain-cells1 and 
every new experience or emotion is      
building and strengthening a certain    
area of brain-tissue4 ,we grow only     
through exercise1 and all expression is 
exercise4 ,the faculties we use grow    
strong1 and those not used1 atrophy and 
wither away4 ,this is no less true1 said

 ,spencer1 in the material brain than in
 the material muscle4 ,a new thought    
causes a new structural enregistration4 
,if it is the repetition of thought1 the
 cells holding that thought are         
exercised and trained1 and finally they 
act automatically1 and repeated thought 
becomes habit1 and exercised habit      
becomes character--and character is the 
man4 ,it thus is plain that no man can  
afford to entertain the thought of fear1
 hate and revenge--and their            
concomitants1 devils and hell--because  
he is enregistering these things        
physically in his being4 ,these physical
 cells1 as science has shown1 are       
transmitted to offspring2 and thus      
through continued mind-activity and     
consequent brain-cell building1 a race  
with fixed characteristics is evolved4  
,pleasant memories and good thoughts    
must be exercised1 and these in time    
will replace evil memories1 so that the 
cells containing negative               
characteristics will atrophy and die4   

,and when ,herbert ,spencer says that   
the process of doing away with evil is  
not through punishment1 threat or       
injunction1 but simply through a change 
of activities--thus allowing the bad to 
die through disuse--he states a truth   
that is even now coloring our whole     
fabric of pedagogics and penology4 ,i   
couple these two words advisedly1 for   
fifty years ago1 pedagogics was a form  
of penology--the boarding-school with   
its mentors1 scheme of fines1           
repressions and disgrace6 ,and now we   
have lifted penology into the realm of  
pedagogics4 ,i doubt me much whether the
 present penitentiary is a more unhappy 
place than a boys' ,english             
boarding-school was in the time of      
,squeers4  ,all of our progress has come
 from replacing bad activities with the 
good4 ,bad people we now believe are    
good folks who have misdirected their   
energies2 and we all believe a deal more
 in the goodness of the bad than the    
badness of the good1 with the result    

that total depravity and endless        
punishment have been shamed out of every
 pulpit where sane men preach4 ,no      
devils danced on the footboard of       
,herbert ,spencer's bed1 because there  
were no devil-cells in his brain4       
,another great discovery of ,herbert    
,spencer's was that the emotions control
 the secretions4 ,and the quality of the
 secretions determines the chemical     
changes which constitute all cellular   
growth4 ,thus1 cheerful1 happy emotions 
are similar to sunshine--they stand for 
health and harmony1 and as such1 are    
constructive4 ,good-will is sanitary2   
kindness is hygienic2 friendship works  
for health4 ,these happy emotions       
secrete a quality in the blood called   
anabolism1 which is essentially         
vitalizing and life-producing4  ,on the 
other hand1 fear1 hate1 and all forms of
 unkindness evolve a toxin1 katabolism1 
which tends to clog circulation1 disturb
 digestion1 congest the secretions and  
stupefy the senses2 and it tends to the 

dissolution and destruction of life4    
,all that saddens1 embitters and        
disappoints produces this chemical      
change that makes for death4 ,a poison1 
said ,spencer1 is only a concentrated   
form of hate4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,spencer's        
discoveries in electricity have been    
most valuable1 and it was by building on
 his suggestions and seeing with his    
prophetic eye that the ,crookes ,tube1  
the ,roentgen ,ray1 and the discovery of
 radium have become possible4  ,the     
distinguishing feature of radium is its 
radioactivity1 brought about through its
 affinity for electricity4 ,it absorbs  
electricity from the atmosphere and     
gives it off spontaneously in the form  
of light and heat without appreciable   
loss of form or substance4 ,every good  
thing in life is dual1 and through this 
natural and spontaneous marriage of     
radium and electricity1 we get very     
close to the secret of life4 ,as the sun
 is the giver of life and death1 so by  

the use of the salts of radium have     
scientists vitalized certain forms of   
cell-life into growth and activity1 and 
by the same token1 and the use of the   
radium-ray1 do they destroy the germs of
 disease4  ,by his prophetic vision1    
,spencer saw years ago that we would yet
 be able to eliminate and refine the    
substances of earth until we found the  
element that would combine spontaneously
 with electricity1 and radiate life and 
heat4 ,among the very last letters      
dictated by ,spencer1 only a few days   
before his death1 was one to ,madame    
,curie congratulating her on her        
discovery of radium1 and urging her not 
to relax in her further efforts to seek 
out the secret of life4 ,my only regret 
is1 wrote the great man1 that ,i will   
not be here to rejoice with you in the  
fulness of your success4 ,thus to the   
last did he preserve the eager1 curious 
and receptive heart of youth1 and prove 
to the scientific world his theory that 
brain-cells1 properly exercised1 are the

 last organs of the body to lose their  
functions4     ,,schopenhauer           
,wherever one goes one immediately comes
 upon this incorrigible mob      of     
humanity4 ,it exists everywhere in      
legions2 crowding1 soiling              
everything1 like flies in summer4 ,hence
 the numberless bad books1      those   
rank weeds of literature which extract  
nourishment from the      corn and choke
 it4 ,they monopolize the time1 money   
and attention      which really belong  
to good books and their noble aims2 they
 are      written merely with a view to 
making money or procuring places4       
,they are not only useless1 but they do 
positive harm4 ,nine-tenths      of the 
whole of our present literature aims    
solely at taking a few      shillings   
out of the public's pocket1 and to      
accomplish this1      author1 publisher 
and reviewer have joined forces4        
--,schopenhauer  ,illustration3         
,,schopenhauer   ,the philosophy we     
evolve is determined by what we are2    

just as a nation passes laws legalizing 
the things it wishes to do4 ,where the  
artist is1 there you will find art1 said
 ,whistler4 ,we will not get the ,ideal 
,commonwealth until we get ,ideal       
,people2 and we will not get an ideal   
philosophy until we get an ideal        
philosopher4 ,place the mentally and    
morally slipshod in ideal surroundings  
and they will quickly evolve a slum1    
just as did ,john ,shakespeare1 when at 
,stratford he was fined two pounds ten  
for maintaining a sequinarium4 ,all we  
can say for ,john is that he was the    
author of a fine boy1 who resembled his 
mother much more than he did his father4
 ,this seems to prove ,schopenhauer's   
remark concerning a divine sonship3     
,paternity is a cheap office1 anyway1   
accomplished without cost1 care or risk1
 and of it no one should boast4 ,a      
divine motherhood is the only thing that
 is really sacred4  ,it isn't his       
philosophy that makes a man--man makes  
his philosophy1 and he makes it in his  

own image4 ,living in a world of strife1
 where the most savage beast that roams 
the earth is man1 the ,philosophy of    
,pessimism has its place4  ,schopenhauer
 proved himself a true philosopher when 
he said3 ,all we see in the world is a  
projection from our own minds4 ,i may   
see one thing1 you another2 and         
according to the test of a third party  
we are both wrong1 for he sees something
 else4 ,so we are all wrong1 yet all are
 right4  ,he was quite willing to admit 
that he had a well-defined moral squint 
and a touch of mental strabismus2 but he
 revealed his humanity by blaming his   
limitations on his parents1 and charging
 up his faults and foibles to other     
people4  ,it is possible that ,carlyle's
 famous remark about the people who     
daily cross ,london ,bridge was inspired
 by ,schopenhauer1 who1 when asked what 
kind of people the ,berliners were1     
replied1 ,mostly fools6  ,i believe1    
ventured the interrogator--,i believe1  
,herr ,schopenhauer1 that you yourself  

live at ,berlin8  ,i do1 was the        
response1 and ,i feel very much at home 
there4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,heinrich ,schopenhauer1   
the father of ,arthur ,schopenhauer1 was
 a banker and shipping merchant of the  
city of ,danzig1 ,germany4 ,he was a    
successful man1 and1 like all successful
 men1 he was an egotist4 ,before the    
world will believe in you1 you must     
believe in yourself4 ,and another       
necessary element in success is that you
 must exaggerate your own importance1   
and the importance of your work4        
,self-esteem will not alone make you    
successful1 but without a goodly jigger 
of self-esteem1 success will forever    
dally and dance just beyond your reach4 
,the humble men who have succeeded in   
impressing themselves upon the world    
have all taken much pride in their      
humility4  ,heinrich ,schopenhauer was a
 proud man--as proud as the ,merchant of
 ,venice--and in his veins there ran a  
strain of the blue blood of the         

,castilian ,jew4 ,too much success is   
most unfortunate4 ,heinrich             
,schopenhauer was proud1 unbending1     
harsh1 arbitrary1 wore a full beard and 
a withering smile1 and looked upon      
musicians1 painters1 sculptors and      
writers as court clowns1 to be trusted  
only as far as you could fling ,taurus  
by the tail4 ,all good bookkeepers have1
 even yet1 this pitying contempt for    
those whose chief assets are ideas--the 
legal tender of the spirit4 ,the        
,alameda smile is the smile of scorn    
worn by the bookkeepers who prepare the 
balance-sheets for the great merchants  
of ,san ,francisco4 ,alameda is young1  
but the ,alameda smile is classic4      
,when ,heinrich ,schopenhauer was forty 
he married a beautiful girl of twenty4  
,she had ideas about art and poetry1 and
 was passing through her ,byronic stage1
 before ,byron did1 and taking it rather
 hard1 when her parents gave her in     
troth to ,heinrich ,schopenhauer1 the   
rich merchant4 ,it was regarded as a    

great catch4  ,i wish that ,i could say 
that ,heinrich and ,johanna were happy  
ever after1 but in view of the          
well-known facts put forth by their     
firstborn child1 ,i can not do it4      
,before marriage the woman has her way3 
let her make the most of her            
power--she'll not keep it long6 ,shortly
 after their marriage ,heinrich saw     
symptoms of the art instinct creeping   
in1 and players on sweet zither-strings1
 who occasionally called1 compelled him 
to take measures4 ,he bought a country  
seat1 four miles from the city1 on an   
inaccessible road1 and sent his bride   
thither4 ,here he visited her only on   
,saturdays and ,sundays1 and her callers
 were the good folk he chose to bring   
with him4  ,marital peace is only       
possible where women are properly       
suppressed--lumity dee6  ,it was under  
these conditions that ,arthur           
,schopenhauer was born1 on ,february    
,twenty-second--in deference to our     
,george ,washington--,seventeen ,hundred

 ,eighty-eight4  ,the chief quality that
 ,schopenhauer inherited from his father
 was the ,alameda smile--and this smile 
of contempt was for all those who did   
not think as he did4 ,the mother never  
professed to have any love for her      
husband1 or the child either1 and the   
child never professed to have any love  
for his mother4 ,he once wrote this3 ,i 
was an unwelcome child1 born of a mother
 in rebellion--she never wanted me1 and 
,i reciprocate the sentiment4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,in that troublous year of ,seventeen   
,hundred ,ninety-three1 the ,free ,city 
of ,danzig fell under the sway of       
,prussia4  ,heinrich ,schopenhauer1 who 
loved freedom1 jealous of his           
privileges1 fearful of his rights1      
immediately packed up his effects1 sold 
out his property--at great loss--and    
moved to the ,free ,city of ,hamburg4   
,that his fears for the future were     
quite groundless1 as most fears are1 is 
a fact relevant but not consequent4     

,johanna was vivacious and eminently    
social4 ,she spoke ,french1 ,german1    
,english and ,italian4 ,she played the  
harp1 sang1 wrote poetry and acted in   
dramas of her own composition4 ,around  
her there always clustered a goodly     
group of men with long hair1 dreamy eyes
 and pointed beards1 who soared high1   
dived deep1 but seldom paid cash4 ,this 
is the paradise to which most women wish
 to attain3 to be followed by a         
concourse of artistic archangels--what  
nobler ambition6 ,and let the great     
biological and historical fact here be  
written down--that there are no female  
angels4  ,heinrich did not settle down  
in ,hamburg and go into business1 as he 
expected4 ,he and his wife and boy      
traveled much--through ,england1        
,france1 ,germany and ,switzerland4     
,this man and his wife were trying to   
get away from themselves4 ,long years   
after1 their son wrote1 ,when people die
 and wake up in hell they will probably 
be surprised to find that they are just 

such beings as they were when they were 
on earth4  ,for a year the lad was left 
at school with a clergyman at           
,wimbledon1 in ,england4 ,the strict    
religious discipline to which he was    
there subjected seemed to have had much 
to do with forming in him a fierce      
hatred of ,english orthodoxy2 but he    
learned the language and became familiar
 with the great names in ,english       
literature4 ,the ,king ,arthur stories  
pleased him1 and he always took a       
peculiar satisfaction in the fact that  
the name ,arthur was the same in        
,english1 ,german and ,french4 ,he was a
 prenatal cosmopolitan4                 
,boarding-schools are a great scheme for
 getting the children out of the way--it
 throws the responsibility upon some one
 else4 ,when nine years of age1 ,arthur 
was placed in a ,french boarding-school1
 remaining for two years4 ,there he     
learned to speak ,french so fluently    
that when he returned to ,hamburg and   
tried to talk to his mother in ,german1 

his broken speech threw that excellent  
woman into fits of laughter4  ,when the 
mature man of affairs takes a young girl
 to wife1 he expects to mold her to his 
nature1 but he reckons without his host4
 ,heinrich ,schopenhauer's opposition to
 his wife's wishes was not strong enough
 to crush her--it simply developed in   
her a deal of wilful1 dogged strength4  
,one winter day in ,eighteen ,hundred   
,four the body of ,heinrich             
,schopenhauer was found in the canal at 
,hamburg4  ,arthur was then sixteen     
years of age--old for his years1        
traveled1 clever--strong in body and    
robust in health4  ,in wandering with   
his parents1 he had met ,goethe1        
,wieland1 ,madame ,de ,stael1 ,lord     
,nelson and ,lady ,hamilton1 and many   
other distinguished people1 for his     
mother was a famous lion-hunter1 and    
wherever they went1 the great ones were 
tracked to their lairs4 ,but however    
much ,madame ,schopenhauer indulged in  
hero-worship1 she had no expectations or

 ambitions for her son4 ,she apprenticed
 him as a clerk and did her utmost to   
immerse him in commerce4 ,what she      
desired was freedom for herself1 and the
 popular plan to gain freedom is to     
enslave others4 ,madame ,schopenhauer   
moved to ,weimar and opened there a sort
 of literary salon4 ,she wrote verses1  
novels1 essays1 and her home became the 
center of a certain artistic group4 ,the
 fortune her husband had left was equal 
to about forty thousand dollars1        
one-third of which was to go to ,arthur 
when he was twenty-one4 ,the mother had 
the handling of it all until that time1 
and as the funds were well invested1 her
 income was equal to about two thousand 
dollars a year4  ,a handsome widow1     
under forty1 with no encumbrances to    
speak of1 and a fair income1 is very    
fortunately situated4 ,indeed1 a great  
writer has recently written an essay    
showing that widows1 discreetly         
bereaved1 are the happiest creatures on 
earth4  ,young ,schopenhauer1 at his    

desk in ,hamburg1 grieved over the death
 of his father4 ,that which is lost     
becomes valuable--bereavement softens   
the heart4 ,the only tenderness that is 
revealed in the writings of             
,schopenhauer refers to his father4 ,he 
affirms the sterling honesty of the man1
 and lauds the merchant who boldly      
states that he is in business to make   
money1 and compares him with the        
philosophers who clutch for power and   
fame and yet pretend they are working   
for humanity4 ,when ,schopenhauer was   
past sixty1 he dedicated his complete   
works to the memory of his father4 ,as  
nothing purifies like fire1 so does     
nothing sanctify like death--the love we
 lose is the only love we keep4         
,mathematics1 bills and balance-sheets  
were odious to young ,schopenhauer4 ,he 
reverenced the memory of his father1 but
 his mother had endowed him with a      
strong impulse for expression4 ,he wrote
 little essays on the backs of          
envelopes1 philosophized over his bills1

 sneaked out of the countingroom the    
back way to attend the afternoon        
lectures by the great ,doctor ,gall1 and
 finally1 boldly followed his mother to 
,weimar1 that he might bask in the      
shadow of the mighty ,goethe4 ,it was   
shortly after this that he sat in a     
niche of ,goethe's library1 musing1 sad 
and solitary1 while a gay throng        
chattered by4 ,some young women1 seeing 
him there1 laughed1 and one asked1 ,is  
it alive8 ,and ,goethe1 overhearing the 
pleasantry1 rebuked it by saying1 ,do   
not smile at that youth--he will yet    
eclipse us all4  ,at ,weimar there was  
no greeting for ,schopenhauer from his  
mother--she welcomed all but her son4   
,unfortunately for her1 she put herself 
on record by writing him letters4       
,scathing letters are all right1 but    
they should be directed and stamped1    
then burned just before they are trusted
 to the mails4 ,to record unkindness is 
tragedy1 for the unkind word lives long 
after the event that caused it is       

forgotten4 ,here is one letter written  
by ,madame ,schopenhauer that this      
methodical son saved for posterity3     
,my ,dear ,son3       ,i have always    
told you it is difficult to live with   
you4 ,the more ,i      get to know you1 
the more ,i feel this difficulty        
increase4 ,i will      not hide it from 
you3 as long as you are what you are1 ,i
 would      rather bring any sacrifice  
than consent to be near you4 ,i do not  
undervalue your good points1 and that   
which repels me does not lie      in    
your heart2 it is in your outer1 not    
your inner being2 in your      ideas1   
your judgment1 your habits2 in a word1  
there is nothing      concerning the    
outer world in which we agree4 ,your    
ill-humor1 your      complaints of      
things inevitable1 your sullen looks1   
the      extraordinary opinions you     
utter1 like oracles1 none may presume to
      contradict2 all this depresses me 
and troubles me1 without helping        
you4 ,your eternal quibbles1 your       

laments over the stupid world and       
human misery1 give me bad nights and    
unpleasant dreams4444                   
,your ,dear ,mother1 etc41              
,johanna ,schopenhauer         99       
99       99       99       99  ,the     
young man took lodgings at ,weimar1 at a
 goodly distance from his mother4       
,goethe held out a friendly hand1 as he 
did to ,mendelssohn1 and all bright     
young men4 ,they talked much1 and       
,goethe read to ,arthur his essay on the
 theory of colors 7for ,wolfgang ,goethe
 was human and dearly loved the sound of
 his own voice74 ,the reasoning so      
impressed the youth that he devised a   
chromatic theory of his own--almost as  
peculiar4 ,theories are for the         
theorizer1 so all theories are useful4  
,at the earnest importunity of his      
mother1 who starved him to it1 ,arthur  
went back to his clerkship1 but soon    
returned and made terms1 agreeing not to
 call on his mother1 in consideration of
 a pound a week4 ,he took lessons in    

,greek and ,latin of a retired          
professor1 attended lectures1 fell in   
love with an actress--vowed he would    
marry her1 but1 luckily for her1 he     
didn't4  ,when he was twenty-one1 his   
mother turned over to him his patrimony1
 amounting to about fourteen thousand   
dollars2 and suggested that he leave    
,weimar and make his fortune            
elsewhere--the world was wide4  ,his    
money was invested so it brought him an 
income of seven hundred dollars a year4 
,and here seems a good place to say that
 ,schopenhauer's income was never over a
 thousand dollars a year until after he 
was fifty-six years of age4 ,although he
 could not make money1 yet he had       
inherited from his father an ability to 
care for it4 ,throughout his life he    
kept exact books of account1 never ran  
in debt1 and never allowed his          
expenditures to outrun his income1 thus 
complying with ,charles ,dickens' recipe
 for happiness4  ,in still another way  
he revealed that he could apply         

philosophy to daily life3 he exercised  
regularly in the open air1 took long    
walks1 was absurdly exact about his cold
 baths1 and like ,kant1 served the      
neighbors as a chronometer1 so they set 
their clocks at three when they saw him 
going forth for a walk4 ,and in the     
interests of truth1 we will have to make
 the embarrassing admission that the    
great ,apostle of ,pessimism was neither
 a dyspeptic nor an invalid--if he was  
ever aware that he had a stomach we do  
not hear of it4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,the life of      
,schopenhauer is the life of a          
recluse--a visionary--a hermit who lost 
himself amid the maze of city streets1  
and moved solitary in the throng4       
,berlin1 ,dresden1 ,hamburg1 ,gottingen1
 ,frankfort1 engaged him1 and from one  
to the other he turned1 looking for the 
rest he never found1 and which he knew  
he would never find1 so in the vain     
search there was no disappointment4 ,he 
was always happiest when most miserable1

 for then were his theories proved4  ,a 
single room in a lodging-house sufficed1
 and this room always had the appearance
 of being occupied by a transient4 ,he  
had few books1 accumulated no belongings
 in way of domestic ballast1            
persistently giving away things that    
were presented to him1 satisfied if he  
had a chair1 a bed1 and a table upon    
which to write2 getting his own         
breakfast1 dining at the table d'hote of
 the nearest inn1 with supper at a      
,gast-,haus--so passed his days4 ,he had
 no intimate friends1 and his chief     
dissipation was playing the flute4 ,his 
black poodle1 named ,homo in a subtle   
mood of irony1 accompanied him          
everywhere1 and on this dog he lavished 
what he was pleased to call his love4   
,he anticipated ,rip ,van ,winkle       
concerning dogs and women1 and when     
,homo died1 he bought another dog that  
looked exactly like the first1 and was  
just as good4  ,in a few instances      
,schopenhauer read his essays in public 

as lectures1 but his ideas were keyed to
 concert pitch and were too pronounced  
for average audiences4 ,he was offered a
 professorship at ,gottingen and also at
 ,heidelberg1 if he would tone things   
down1 but he scornfully declined the    
proposition1 and said1 ,the             
,universities must grow to my level     
before ,i can talk to them4 ,by his     
caustic criticisms of contemporaries he 
became both feared and shunned1 and no  
doubt he found a certain satisfaction in
 the fact that the so-called learned men
 of his time would neither listen to his
 lectures1 read his books1 nor abide his
 presence4 ,he had made himself felt in 
any event4 ,blessed are ye when men     
shall revile you1 is the sweet          
consolation of all persecuted           
persons--and persecution is only the    
natural resentment towards those who    
have too much ego in their cosmos4  ,his
 opinions concerning love and marriage  
need not be taken too seriously4 ,ideas 
are the results of temperaments and     

moods4 ,when a man amplifies on the     
woman question he describes the women he
 knows best1 and more especially the    
particular ,she who is in his head4     
,literature is only autobiography1 more 
or less discreetly veiled4 ,schopenhauer
 hated his mother to the day of her     
death1 and although during the last     
twenty-four years of her life he never  
once saw her1 her image could at any    
time be quickly and vividly thrown upon 
the screen4 ,the women a strong man has 
known are never forgotten--here is where
 time does not tarnish1 nor the days    
grow dim4  ,between his twenty-eighth   
and fortieth years1 ,schopenhauer had   
wandered through ,italy--spent months at
 ,venice1 and dawdled away the days at  
,rome and ,florence4 ,he had dipped deep
 into life--and the wrong kind of life4 
,and his experiences had confirmed his  
suspicions--it was all bitter--he was   
not disappointed4  ,until ,schopenhauer 
was past thirty he was known as the son 
of ,johanna ,schopenhauer4 ,and when he 

once told her that posterity would never
 remember her except as the mother of   
her son1 she reciprocated by            
congratulating him that his books could 
always be had cheap in the first        
editions4  ,he retorted1 ,mamma ,dear1  
my books will be read when butchers are 
using yours for wrapping up meat4 ,in   
some ways this precious pair were very  
much alike4  ,it is very probable that  
,schopenhauer's mother was not so base  
as he thought2 and when he declared1    
,woman's morality is only a kind of     
prudence1 he might have said the same of
 his own4 ,he stood aloof from life and 
said things about it4 ,he had no wife1  
no child1 no business1 no home--he dared
 not venture boldly into the tide of    
existence--he stood forever on the bank1
 and watched the current carrying its   
flotsam and jetsam to the hungry sea4   
,in his love for the memory of his      
father1 and in his tender care for his  
dog1 we get a glimpse of depths that    
were never sounded4 ,one side of his    

nature was never developed4 ,and the    
words of the undeveloped man are worth  
what they are worth4  ,schopenhauer once
 said to ,wieland1 ,life is a ticklish  
business--,i propose to spend my time   
looking at it4 ,this he did1 viewing    
existence from every angle1 and writing 
out his thoughts in terse1 epigrammatic 
language4  ,among all the ,german       
writers on philosophy1 the only one who 
had a distinct literary style is        
,schopenhauer4 ,form was quite as much  
to him as matter--and in this he showed 
rare wisdom2 although ,i am told that   
the writers who have no literary style  
are the only ones who despise it4       
,dishes to be palatable must be rightly 
served3 appetite--literary1 gastronomic 
or sexual--is largely a matter of       
imagination4  ,schopenhauer need not be 
regarded as final4 ,the chief virtue of 
the man lies in the fact that he makes  
us think1 and thus are we his debtors4  
,in this summary of ,schopenhauer's     
philosophy ,i have had the valuable     

assistance of my friend and             
fellow-worker in the ,roycroft ,shop1   
,george ,pannebakker1 a kinsman and     
enthusiastic admirer of the great       
,prophet of ,pessimism4  ,in talking to 
,mr4 ,pannebakker1 ,i am inclined to    
exclaim1 ,thou almost persuadest me to  
be a pessimist6 ,it is unfortunate that 
our ,english tongue contains no word    
that stands somewhere between pessimism 
and optimism--that symbols a judicial   
cast of mind which sees the ,truth      
without blinking and accepts it without 
complaint4 ,the word ,pessimist was     
first flung in contempt at those who    
dared to express unpalatable truth4 ,it 
is now accepted by a large number of    
intellectuals1 and if to be a pessimist 
is to have insight1 wit1 calm courage1  
patience1 persistency1 and a disposition
 that accepts all ,fate sends and makes 
the best of it1 then pity 'tis we       
haven't more4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,the root of      
existence1 the inmost kernel of all     

being1 the original vitalizing power1   
the fundamental reality of the universe1
 is1 according to ,schopenhauer1 ,,will4
 ,what is ,will8 ,will1 in the usual    
sense1 is the faculty of our mind by    
which we decide to do or not to do4     
,will is the power to choose4 ,in       
,schopenhauer's philosophy1 ,will is    
something less as we know will1 and     
something more than force4 ,will1       
connected with consciousness1 as        
peculiar to man1 is1 in a less developed
 form1 the real essence of all matter1  
of all things1 organic or inorganic4    
,will is the blind1 irresistible        
striving for existence2 the unconscious 
organizing power1 the omnipotent        
creative force of ,nature1 pervading the
 whole limitless universe2 the endeavor 
to be1 to evolve1 to expand4  ,the whole
 world of phenomena is the objectivation
 or apparition of ,will4  ,will1 the    
same force which slumbers in the stone  
as inert gravity1 forms the crystals    
with such wonderful regularity4  ,will  

impels a piece of iron to move with     
ardent desire toward the magnet4 ,will  
causes the magnet to point with         
unfailing constancy to the north4 ,will 
causes the embryo to cling as a parasite
 and feed on the body of the mother4    
,will causes the mother's breast to fill
 that her babe may be fed4 ,will fills  
the mother-heart with love that the     
young may be cared for4  ,the same force
 urges the tender germ of the plant to  
break through the hard crust of the     
earth and1 stretching toward the light1 
to enfold itself in the proud crown of  
the palm-tree4 ,will sharpens the beak  
of the eagle and the tooth of the tiger 
and1 finally1 reaches its highest grade 
of objectivation in the human brain4    
,want1 the struggle for existence1 the  
necessity of procuring and selecting    
sufficient food for the preservation of 
the individual and the species1 has at  
last developed a suitable tool1 the     
brain1 and its function1 the intellect4 
,with the intellect appear consciousness

 and a realm of rational life full of   
yearning and desires1 pleasures and     
pain1 hatred and love4 ,brothers slay   
their brothers1 conquerors trample down 
the races of the earth1 and tyrants are 
forging chains for the nations4  ,there 
is violence and fear1 vexation and      
trouble4 ,unrest is the mark of         
existence1 and onward we are swept in   
the hurrying whirlpool of change4 ,this 
manifold restless motion is produced and
 kept up by the agency of two single    
impulses--hunger and the sexual         
instinct4 ,these are the chief agents of
 the ,lord of the ,universe--the        
,will--and set in motion so strange and 
varied a scene4  ,the ,will-to-,live is 
at the bottom of all love-affairs4      
,every kind of love springs entirely    
from the instinct of sex4  ,love is     
under bonds to secure the existence of  
the human race in future times4 ,the    
real aim of the whole of love's romance1
 although the persons concerned are     
unconscious of the fact1 is that a      

particular being may come into the      
world4  ,it is the ,will-to-,live1      
presenting itself in the whole species1 
which so forcibly and exclusively       
attracts two individuals of different   
sex towards each other4  ,this yearning 
and this pain do not arise from the     
needs of an ephemeral individual1 but   
are1 on the contrary1 the sigh of the   
,spirit of the ,species4  ,since life is
 essentially suffering1 the propagation 
of the species is an evil--the feeling  
of shame proves it4  ,in his            
,metaphysics of ,love1 ,schopenhauer    
says3 ,we see a pair of lovers          
exchanging longing glances--yet why so  
secretly1 timidly and stealthily8       
,because these lovers are traitors      
secretly striving to perpetuate all the 
misery and turmoil that otherwise would 
come to a timely end4  ,will1 as the    
source of life1 is the origin of all    
evil4  ,having awakened to life from the
 night of unconsciousness1 the          
individual finds itself in an endless   

and boundless world1 striving1          
suffering1 erring2 and1 as though       
passing through an ominous dream1 it    
hurries back to the old unconsciousness4
 ,until then1 however1 its desires are  
boundless1 and every satisfied wish     
begets a new one4 ,so-called pleasures  
are only a mode of temporary relief4    
,pain soon returns in the form of       
satiety4 ,life is a more or less violent
 oscillation between pain and ennui4    
,the latter1 like a bird of prey1 hovers
 over us1 ready to swoop down wherever  
it sees a life secure from need4  ,the  
enjoyment of art1 as the disinterested  
cognition devoid of ,will1 can afford an
 interval of rest from the drudgery of  
,will service4 ,but esthetic beatitude  
can be obtained only by a few2 it is not
 for the hoi polloi4 ,and then1 art can 
give only a transient consolation4      
,everything in life indicates that      
earthly happiness is destined to be     
frustrated or to be recognized as an    
illusion4 ,life proves a continuous     

deception1 in great as well as in small 
matters4 ,if it makes a promise1 it does
 not keep it1 unless to show that the   
coveted object was little desirable4    
,life is a business that does not pay   
expenses4  ,misery and pain form the    
essential feature of existence4  ,life  
is hell1 and happy is that man who is   
able to procure for himself an asbestos 
overcoat and a fire-proof room4         
,looking at the turmoil of life1 we find
 all occupied with its want and misery1 
exerting all their strength in order to 
satisfy its endless needs and avert     
manifold suffering1 without daring to   
expect anything else in return than     
merely the preservation of this         
tormented individual existence1 full of 
want and misery1 toil and moil1 strife  
and struggle1 sorrow and trouble1       
anguish and fear--from the cradle to the
 grave4  ,existence1 when summed up1 has
 an enormous surplus of pain over       
pleasure4  ,you complain that this      
philosophy is comfortless6 ,but         

,schopenhauer sees life through         
,schopenhauer's eyes1 and tells the     
truth about it as he sees it4 ,he does  
not care for your likes and dislikes4   
,if you want to hear soft platitudes1 he
 advises you to go to a non-conformist  
church--read the newspapers1 go         
somewhere else1 but not to the          
philosopher who cares only for ,truth4  
,although ,schopenhauer's picture of the
 world is gloomy and somber1 there is   
nothing weak or cowardly in his         
writings1 and the extent to which he is 
read1 proves he is not depressing4      
,since a happy life is impossible1 he   
says the highest that a man can attain  
to is the fate of a hero4  ,a man must  
take misfortune quietly1 because he     
knows that very many dreadful things may
 happen in the course of life4 ,he must 
look upon the trouble of the moment as  
only a very small part of that which    
will probably come4  ,we must not expect
 very much from life1 but learn to      
accommodate ourselves to a world where  

all is relative and no perfect state    
exists4  ,let us look misfortune in the 
face and meet it with courage and       
calmness6  ,fate is cruel and men are   
miserable4 ,life is synonymous with     
suffering2 positive happiness a fata    
morgana1 an illusion4  ,only negative   
happiness1 the cessation of suffering1  
is possible1 and can be obtained by the 
annihilation of the ,will-to-,live4     
,but it is not suicide that can deliver 
us from the pains of existence4         
,suicide1 according to ,schopenhauer1   
frustrates the attainment of the highest
 moral aim by the fact that1 for a real 
release from this world of misery1 it   
substitutes one that is merely apparent4
 ,for death merely destroys the         
phenomenon1 that is1 the body1 and never
 my inmost being1 or the universal      
,will4  ,suicide can deliver me merely  
from my phenomenal existence1 and not   
from my real self1 which can not die4   
,how1 then1 can man be released from    
this life of misery and pain8 ,where is 

the road that leads to ,salvation8      
,slow and weary is the way of           
redemption4  ,the deliverance from life 
and its sufferings is the freedom of the
 intellect from its creator and despot1 
the ,will4  ,the intellect1 freed from  
the bondage of the ,will1 sees through  
the veil of selfhood into the unity of  
all being1 and finds that he who has    
done wrong to another has done wrong to 
his own self4 ,for selfhood--the        
asserting of the ,ego--is the root of   
all evil4  ,covetousness and sensuality 
are the causes of misery4  ,sympathy is 
the basis of all true morality1 and only
 through renunciation1 through          
self-sacrifice1 and universal           
benevolence1 can salvation be obtained4 
,he who has recognized that existence is
 evil1 that life is vanity1 and self an 
illusion1 has obtained true knowledge1  
which is the reflection of reality4 ,he 
is in possession of the highest wisdom1 
which is not merely theoretical1 but    
also practical perfection2 it is the    

ultimate true cognition of all things in
 mass and in detail1 which has so       
penetrated man's being that it appears  
as the guide of all his actions4 ,it    
illumines his head1 warms his heart1    
leads his hand4 ,we take the sting out  
of life by accepting it as it is4 ,drink
 ye all of it4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,arthur           
,schopenhauer very early in life        
contracted a bad habit of telling the   
truth4 ,he stated the thing absolutely  
as he saw it4 ,he spared no one's       
feelings1 and conciliation was not in   
his bright lexicon of words4 ,if any    
belief or any institution was in his    
way1 the pilot in charge of the craft   
had better put his prow hard a'         
port--,schopenhauer swerved for nobody4 
,should every one deal in plain speaking
 on all occasions1 the philosophy of    
,ali ,baba--that this earth is hell1 and
 we are now suffering for sins committed
 in a former incarnation--would be fully
 proved4 ,our friends are the pleasant  

hypocrites who sustain our illusions4   
,society is made possible only through a
 vast web of delicate evasions1 polite  
subterfuges1 and agreeable falsehoods4  
,the word person comes from persona1    
which means a mask4 ,the reference is to
 one who plays a part--assumes a role4  
,the naked truth is not pleasant to look
 upon1 and that is the reason it is so  
seldom put upon parade4  ,the man       
,schopenhauer would be intolerable1 but 
the writer ,schopenhauer is gaining     
ground in inverse ratio to the square of
 the distance we are from him4 ,where   
shall we bury you8 a friend asked him a 
few days before his death4  ,oh1        
anywhere--posterity will find me6 was   
the answer4 ,and so on the modest stone 
that marks his resting-place at         
,frankfort1 are engraved the two words1 
,,arthur ,,schopenhauer1 and nothing    
more4 ,the world will not soon forget   
the pessimist who had such undying      
optimism--such unquenchable faith--that 
he knew the world would make a path to  

his tomb4  ,schopenhauer was the only   
prominent writer that ever lived who    
persistently affirmed that life is an   
evil--existence a curse4 ,yet every man 
who has ever lived has at times thought 
so2 but to proclaim the thought--or even
 entertain it long--would stagger       
sanity1 befog the intellect and make    
mind lose its way4  ,and yet we prize   
,schopenhauer the more for having said  
the thing that we secretly thought2 in  
some subtle way we get a satisfaction   
out of his statement1 and at the same   
time1 we perceive the man was wrong4    
,the man who can vivisect an emotion1   
and lay bare a heart-beat in print1     
knows a subtle joy4 ,the misery that can
 explain itself is not all misery4      
,complete misery is dumb2 and pain that 
is all pain is quickly transformed into 
insensibility4 ,schopenhauer's life was 
quite as happy as that of many men who  
persistently depress us by requesting us
 to cheer up4 ,schopenhauer says1 ,don't
 try to cheer up--the worst is yet to   

come4 ,and we can not refrain a smile4  
,a mother once called to her little boy 
to come into the house4 ,and the boy    
answered1 ,i won't do it6 ,and the      
mother replied1 ,stay out then6 ,and    
very soon the child came in4  ,truth is 
only a point of view1 and when a man    
tells us what he sees1 we swiftly take  
into consideration who and what the man 
is4 ,everybody does this1 unconsciously4
 ,it depends upon who says it6 ,the     
garrulous man who habitually            
overstates--painting things large--does 
not deceive anybody1 and is quite as    
good a companion as the painstaking1    
exact man who is always setting us      
straight on our statistics4 ,one man we 
take gross and the other net4 ,the liar 
gross is all right1 but the liar net is 
very bad4  ,schopenhauer was a          
talkative1 whimsical and sensitive      
personality1 with a fine assortment of  
harmless superstitions of his own       
manufacture4 ,he was vain1 frivolous1   
self-absorbed1 but he had an eye for the

 subtleties of existence that quite     
escape the average individual4 ,he lived
 in a world of mind--alert1 active1     
receptive mind--with a rapid-fire gun in
 way of a caustic1 biting1 scathing     
vocabulary at his command4  ,the test of
 every literary work is time4 ,the      
trite1 the commonplace1 and the         
irrelevant die and turn to dust4 ,the   
vital lives4 ,schopenhauer began writing
 in his youth4 ,neglect1 indifference   
and contempt were his portion until he  
was over fifty years of age4 ,his       
passion for truth was so repelling that 
the ,mutual ,admiration ,society refused
 to record his name even on its         
waiting-list4 ,he was of that elect few 
who early in life succeed in ridding    
themselves of the friendship of the     
many4 ,his enemies discovered him first1
 and gave him to the world1 and after   
they had launched his fame with their   
charges of plagiarism1 pretense1        
bombast1 insincerity and fraud1 he has  
never been out of the limelight1 and in 

favor he has steadily grown4  ,no man   
was ever more thoroughly denounced than 
,schopenhauer1 but even his most rabid  
foe never accused him of buying his way 
into popular favor1 or bribing the      
judges who sit on the bookcase4  ,we    
admire the man because he is such a     
sublime egotist--he is so fearfully     
honest4 ,we love him because he is so   
often wrong in his conclusions3 he gives
 us the joy of putting him straight4    
,schopenhauer's writing is never the    
product of a tired pen and ink unstirred
 by the spirit4 ,with him we lose our   
self-consciousness4  ,and the man who   
can make other men forget themselves has
 conferred upon the world a priceless   
boon4 ,introspection is insanity--to    
open the windows and look out is health4
     ,,henry ,d4 ,,thoreau     ,seeing  
how all the world's ways came to nought1
     ,and how ,death's one decree merged
 all degrees1     ,he chose to pass his 
time with birds and trees1     ,reduced 
his life to sane necessities3   ,plain  

meat and drink and sleep and noble      
thought4     ,and the plump kine which  
waded to the knees     ,through the lush
 grass1 knowing the luxuries     ,of    
succulent mouthfuls1 had our            
gold-disease   ,as much as he1 who only 
,nature sought4    ,who gives up much   
the gods give more in turn3     ,the    
music of the spheres for dross of gold2 
,for o'er-officious cares1 flame-songs  
that burn     ,their pathway through the
 years and never old4   ,and he who     
shunned vain cares and vainer strife    
,found an eternity in one short life4   
,illustration3 ,,henry ,,thoreau   ,as a
 rule1 the man who can do all things    
equally well is a very mediocre         
individual4 ,those who stand out before 
a groping world as beacon-lights were   
men of great faults and unequal         
performances4 ,it is quite needless to  
add that they do not live on account of 
their faults or imperfections1 but in   
spite of them4  ,henry ,david ,thoreau's
 place in the common heart of humanity  

grows firmer and more secure as the     
seasons pass2 his life proves for us    
again the paradoxical fact that the only
 men who really succeed are those who   
fail4  ,thoreau's obscurity1 his        
poverty1 his lack of public recognition 
in life1 either as a writer or lecturer1
 his rejection as a lover1 his failure  
in business1 and his early death1 form a
 combination of calamities that make him
 as immortal as a martyr4 ,especially   
does an early death sanctify all and    
make the record complete1 but the death 
of a naturalist while right at the      
height of his ability to see and        
enjoy--death from tuberculosis of a man 
who lived most of the time in the open  
air--these things array us on the side  
of the man 'gainst unkind ,fate1 and    
cement our sympathy and love4  ,nature's
 care forever is for the species1 and   
the individual is sacrificed without    
ruth that the race may live and         
progress4 ,this dumb indifference of    
,nature to the individual--this apparent

 contempt for the man--seems to prove   
that the individual is only a           
phenomenon4 ,man is merely a            
manifestation1 a symptom1 a symbol1 and 
his quick passing proves that he isn't  
the ,thing4 ,nature does not care for   
him--she produces a million beings in   
order to get one who has thoughts--all  
are swept into the dustpan of oblivion  
but the one who thinks2 he alone lives1 
embalmed in the memories of generations 
unborn4  ,one of the most insistent     
errors ever put out was that statement  
of ,rousseau1 paraphrased in part by ,t4
 ,jefferson1 that all men are born free 
and equal4 ,no man was ever born free1  
and none are equal1 and would not remain
 so an hour1 even if ,jove1 through     
caprice1 should make them so4  ,the     
,thoreau race is dead4 ,in ,sleepy      
,hollow ,cemetery at ,concord there is a
 monument marking a row of mounds where 
a half-dozen ,thoreaus rest4 ,the       
inscriptions are all of one size1 but   
the name of one alone lives1 and he     

lives because he had thoughts and       
expressed them4 ,if any of the tribe of 
,thoreau gets into ,elysium1 it will be 
by tagging close to the only man among  
them who glorified his ,maker by using  
his reason4  ,nothing should be claimed 
as truth that can not be demonstrated1  
but as a hypothesis 7borrowed from      
,henry ,thoreau7 ,i give you this3 ,man 
is only the tool or vehicle--,mind alone
 is immortal--,thought is the ,thing4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,heredity does not account for the      
evolution of ,henry ,thoreau4 ,his      
father was of ,french descent--a plain1 
stolid1 little man who settled in       
,concord with his parents when a child2 
later he tried business in ,boston1 but 
the march of commerce resolved itself   
into a double-quick1 and ,john ,thoreau 
dropped out of line1 and turned to the  
country village of ,concord1 where he   
hoped that between making lead-pencils  
and gardening he might secure a living4 
,he moved better than he knew4  ,john   

,thoreau's wife was ,cynthia ,dunbar1 a 
tall and handsome woman1 with a ready   
tongue and nimble wit4 ,her attentions  
were largely occupied in looking after  
the affairs of the neighbors1 and as the
 years went by her voice took on the    
good old metallic twang of the person   
who discusses people1 not principles4   
,henry ,thoreau was the third child in  
the family of seven4 ,he was born in an 
old house on the ,virginia ,road1       
,concord1 about a mile and a half from  
the village4 ,this house was the home of
 ,mrs4 ,thoreau's mother1 but the       
,thoreaus had taken refuge there1       
temporarily1 to escape a financial      
blizzard which seems to have hit no one 
else but themselves4  ,john ,thoreau was
 assisted in the pencil-making by the   
whole family4 ,the ,thoreaus used to    
sell their pencils down at ,cambridge1  
fifteen miles away1 and ,harvard        
professors1 for the most part1 used the 
,concord article in jotting down their  
sublime thoughts4 ,at ten years of age1 

,thoreau had a furtive eye on ,harvard1 
directed thither1 they say1 by his      
mother4 ,all the best people in         
,concord1 who had sons1 sent them to    
,harvard--why shouldn't the ,thoreaus8  
,the spirit of emulation and family     
pride were at work4  ,henry was educated
 principally because he wasn't very     
strong1 nor was he on good terms with   
work1 and these are classic reasons for 
imparting classical education to youth1 
aspiring or otherwise4  ,the ,concord   
,academy prepared ,henry for college1   
and when he was sixteen1 he trudged off 
to ,cambridge and was duly entered in   
the ,harvard ,class of ,eighteen        
,hundred ,thirty-seven4 ,at ,harvard1   
his cosmos seemed to be of such a slaty 
gray that no one said1 ,go to--we will  
observe this youth and write anecdotes  
about him1 for he is going to be a great
 man4 ,the very few in his class who    
remembered him wrote their reminiscences
 long years afterward1 with memories    
refreshed by magazine accounts written  

by pious pilgrims from ,michigan4  ,in  
college pranks and popular amusements he
 took no part1 neither was he a grind1  
for he impressed himself on no teacher  
or professor so that they opened their  
mouths and made prophecies4  ,once      
safely through college1 and standing on 
the threshold 7,i trust ,i use the right
 expression71 ,henry ,thoreau refused to
 accept his diploma and pay five dollars
 for it--he said it wasn't worth the    
money4  ,in his ,walden1 ,thoreau       
expresses his opinion of college        
training this way3 ,if ,i wished a boy  
to know something about the arts and    
sciences ,i would not pursue the common 
course1 which is merely to send him into
 the neighborhood of some professor1    
where everything is professed and       
practised but the art of life4 ,to my   
astonishment1 ,i was informed when ,i   
left college that ,i had studied        
navigation6 ,why1 if ,i had taken one   
turn down the harbor ,i would have known
 more about it4  ,it is well to         

remember1 however1 that ,thoreau had no 
ambitions to become a navigator4 ,his   
mission was simply to paddle his own    
canoe on ,walden ,pond and ,concord     
,river4 ,the men who really launched him
 on his voyage of discovery were ,ellery
 ,channing and ,ralph ,waldo            
,emerson--both ,harvard men4 ,had he not
 been a college man1 it is quite        
probable he would never have caught the 
speaker's eye4 ,his efforts in working  
his way through college1 assisted by his
 poverty-stricken parents1 proved his   
quality4 ,and as for his life in a      
shanty on the shores of ,walden ,pond1  
the occurrence is too commonplace to    
mention1 were it not for the fact that  
the solitary occupant of the shanty was 
a ,harvard graduate who used no tobacco4
  ,harvard prepares a youth for         
life--but here is a man who1 having     
prepared for life1 deliberately turns   
his back on life and lives in the woods4
  ,a genuine woodsman is no curiosity1  
but a civilized woodsman is4 ,the       

tendency of colleges is to turn men from
 ,nature to books2 from bonfires to     
stoves1 steam-heat and cash-registers2  
but ,thoreau1 by reversing all rules1   
suddenly found himself1 and others1     
explaining his position in print4       
,harvard supplied him the alternating   
current2 he influenced the people in his
 environment1 and he was influenced by  
his environment4  ,but without ,harvard 
there would have been no ,thoreau4      
,having earned his diploma1 he had the  
privilege of declining it2 and having   
gone to college1 it was his right to    
affirm the emptiness of the classics4   
,only the man with a goodly bank-balance
 can wear rags with impunity4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,john ,thoreau made his lead-pencils and
 peddled them out1 and we hear of his   
saying1 ,pencils1 ,i fear1 are going out
 of fashion--people are buying nothing  
but these miserable new-fangled steel   
pens4 ,when called upon to surrender1   
,paul ,jones replied1 ,we haven't yet   

begun to fight4 ,the truth was1 the     
people had not really begun to use      
pencils4 ,pencils weren't going out of  
fashion1 but ,john ,thoreau was4 ,the   
poor man moved here and there1 evicted  
by rapacious landlords and taken in by  
his relatives1 who didn't care whether  
he was a stranger or not4 ,if he owed   
them ten dollars1 they took fifty       
dollars' worth of pencils and called it 
square4  ,then they undersold ,john     
one-half1 and he said times were scarce4
  ,this1 it need not be explained1 was  
in ,massachusetts4  ,a hundred years    
ago1 these men who whittled useful      
things out of wood during the long      
winter days were everywhere in ,new     
,england4 ,the sons of these men        
invented machines to make the same      
things1 and thus were started the ,new  
,england manufactories4 ,it was brains  
against hands1 cleverness against skill1
 initiative against plodding industry4  
,and the man who can tell of the sorrow 
and suffering of all those industrious  

sparrows that were caught and wound     
around flying shuttles1 or stamped      
beneath the swift presses of invention1 
hadn't yet been born4 ,god doesn't seem 
to care for sparrows--three-fourths of  
all that are hatched die in the nest or 
fall fluttering to the ground and       
perish1 ,grant ,allen says4             
,comparatively few persons can adjust   
themselves happily to new conditions3   
the rest are pushed and broken and      
bent--and die4  ,when ,dixon and ,faber 
invented machines that could be fed     
automatically1 and turn out more pencils
 in a day than ,john ,thoreau could in a
 year1 ,john was out of the game4  ,john
 had brought up his children to work1   
and ,henry became an expert             
pencil-maker4 ,henry1 we say1 should    
have found employment with ,faber and   
,company1 as foreman1 or else evaded    
their patents and made a pencil-machine 
of his own4 ,instead1 however1 he       
settled down and made pencils just like 
his father used to make1 and in the same

 way4 ,he peddled out a few to his      
friends1 but his business instinct was  
shown in that he himself tells how one  
year he made a thousand dollars' worth  
of pencils1 but was obliged to sacrifice
 them all to cancel a debt of one       
hundred dollars4  ,and yet there are    
people who declare that genius is not   
transmissible4  ,john ,thoreau failed at
 pencil-making1 but ,henry ,thoreau     
failed because he played the flute      
morning1 noon and night1 and went       
singing the immunity of ,pan4 ,he       
fished1 and tramped the woods and       
fields1 looking1 listening1 dreaming and
 thinking4  ,at ,keswick1 where the     
water comes down at ,lodore1 there is a 
pencil-factory that has been there since
 the days of ,william the ,conqueror4   
,the wife of ,coleridge used to work    
there and get money that supported her  
philosopher-husband and their children4 
,southey lived near1 and became ,poet   
,laureate of ,england through the right 
exercise of ,keswick pencils2           

,wordsworth lived only a few miles away1
 and once he brought over ,charles and  
,mary ,lamb1 and bought pencils for     
both1 with their names stamped on them4 
,the good old man who now keeps the     
pencil-factory explained these things to
 me1 and also explained the direct      
relationship of good lead-pencils to    
literature1 but ,i do not remember what 
it was4  ,if ,henry ,thoreau had held on
 a few years1 until the pilgrims began  
to arrive at ,concord1 he could have    
gotten rich selling souvenir pencils4   
,but he just dozed and dreamed and      
tramped and philosophized2 and when he  
wrote he used an eagle's quill1 with ink
 he himself distilled from elderberries1
 and at first1 birch-bark sufficed for  
paper4 ,wild men and wild things are the
 only ones that have life in abundance1 
he used to say4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,brook ,farm was a
 serious1 sober experiment inaugurated  
by the ,reverend ,george ,ripley with   
intent to live the ideal life--the life 

of useful effort1 direct honesty1       
simplicity and high thinking4  ,but     
,thoreau could not be induced to join   
the community--he thought too much of   
his liberty to entrust it to a          
committee4 ,he was interested in the    
experiment1 but not enough to visit the 
experimenters4 ,emerson looked in on    
them1 remained one night1 and went back 
home to continue his essay on ,idealism4
  ,hawthorne remained long enough to get
 material for his ,blithedale ,romance4 
,margaret ,fuller secured good copy and 
the cordial and lifelong dislike of     
,hawthorne1 all through misprized love1 
alas6 ,george ,william ,curtis and      
,charles ,dana graduated out of ,brook  
,farm1 and went down to ,new ,york to   
make goodly successes in the great game 
of life4  ,at ,brook ,farm they         
succeeded in the high thinking all      
right1 but the entrepreneur is quite as 
necessary as the poet--and a little more
 so4 ,brook ,farm had no business head1 
and things unfit fall into natural      

dissolution4 ,but the enterprise did not
 fail1 any more than a rotting log fails
 when it nourishes a bank of violets4   
,the net results of ,brook ,farm's high 
thinking have passed into the world's   
treasury1 smelted largely by ,emerson   
and ,thoreau1 who were not there4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,immanuel ,kant has been called the     
father of modern ,transcendentalists3   
but ,socrates and his pupil ,plato1 so  
far as we know1 were the first of the   
race4  ,neither buzzing bluebottles nor 
the fall of dynasties disturbed them4   
,the soul is everything1 said ,plato4   
,the soul knows all things1 says        
,emerson4  ,in every century a few men  
have lived who knew the value of plain  
living and high thinking1 and very often
 the men who reversed the maxim have    
passed them the hemlock4  ,all those    
sects known as ,primitive ,christians   
represent variations of the             
idea--,quakers1 ,mennonites1            
,communists1 ,shakers and ,dunkards6  ,a

 ,transcendentalist is a ,dukhobortsi   
with a college education4 ,a ,quaker    
with an artistic bias becomes a         
,preraphaelite1 and lo6 we have ,news   
from ,nowhere1 a ,dream of ,john ,ball1 
,merton ,abbey1 ,kelmscott1 and half a  
world is touched and tinted by the      
simplicity1 sterling honesty and        
genuineness of one man4  ,george        
,ripley1 ,bronson ,alcott1 and ,ralph   
,waldo ,emerson evolved ,new ,england   
,transcendentalism1 and very early      
,henry ,thoreau added a few bars of     
harmonious discords to the symphony4    
,horace ,greeley once contended in a    
,tribune editorial that ,sam ,staples1  
the bum bailiff who locked ,thoreau     
behind the bars1 was an important factor
 in the ,new ,england renaissance1 and  
as such should be immortalized by a     
statue made of punk1 set up on ,boston  
,common for the delectation of          
bean-eaters4 ,i fear me ,horace was a   
joker4  ,california quail are quite     
different from the quail of ,new ,york  

,state1 and naturalists tell us that    
this is caused by a difference in       
environment--quail being a product of   
soil and climate4  ,and man is a product
 of soil and climate--for only in a     
certain soil can you produce a certain  
type of man4 ,as a whole1 this world is 
better adapted for the production of    
fish than genius--most of the really    
good climate falls on the sea4          
,christian ,scientists are              
,transcendentalists whose distinguishing
 point is that they secrete             
millinery--,california quail with       
rainbow tints and topknots1 ,balboaic   
instincts well defined4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,let this
 fact stand3 it was ,emerson who made   
,concord4 ,he saw it first--he was on   
the ground1 and the place was his by    
right of discovery1 the title           
strengthened by the fact that four of   
his ancestors had been ,concord         
clergymen1 and the most excellent and   
venerable ,doctor ,ripley1 a near       

kinsman4  ,concord and ,emerson1 as     
early as ,eighteen ,hundred ,forty1 when
 ,emerson was thirty-seven years old1   
were synonymous4 ,he had defied the     
traditions of ,harvard1 been            
excommunicated by his ,alma ,mater1     
published his pantheistic ,essay on     
,nature1 and his thin little books and  
sermons had been placed on the ,boston  
,theological ,index ,expurgatorius4     
,through it all he had remained gentle1 
smiling1 sympathetic1 unresentful4  ,the
 world can never spare the man who does 
his work and holds his peace4 ,emerson  
was being lifted up1 and souls were     
being drawn unto him4  ,in ,eighteen    
,hundred ,forty1 ,bronson ,alcott1 the  
,american ,socrates1 with his           
interesting family1 moved to ,concord1  
drawn thither by the magnet of          
,emerson's personality4 ,louisa wore    
short dresses1 and used to pick wild    
blackberries and sell them to the       
,emersons and get goodly reward in      
silver1 and kindly smiles1 and pats on  

her brown head by the hand that wrote   
,compensation4  ,alcott was a great1    
honest1 sincere soul1 and a true anarch1
 for he took his own wherever he saw it4
 ,he used to run his wheelbarrow into   
,emerson's garden and load it up with   
potatoes1 cabbages or turnips1 and once 
in response to a hint that the          
vegetables were private property1 the   
old man somewhat petulantly exclaimed1  
,i need them6--,i need them6  ,and that 
was all3 anything that any man needed   
was his by divine right4 ,and the       
consistency of ,alcott's philosophy was 
shown in that he never took anything or 
any more than he needed1 and if he had  
something that you needed1 you were     
certainly welcome to it4 ,if ,alcott    
helped himself to the thrifty ,emerson's
 vegetables1 both ,emerson and ,thoreau 
helped themselves to ,alcott's ideas4   
,once a wagonload of wood broke down in 
front of ,alcott's house1 and the farmer
 unhitched his horses and went on to the
 village to procure a new wheel4 ,before

 he got back1 ,alcott had carried every 
stick of the combustibles into his own  
wood-shed4 ,providence remembers us6 he 
said4 ,his faith was sublime4  ,when all
 the world reaches the ,alcott stage1   
there will be no need of soldiers1      
policemen1 night-watchmen1 or bolts1    
bars and locks4  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred 
,forty1 ,nathaniel ,hawthorne came to   
,concord from ,salem1 where he had      
resigned his clerkship in the           
custom-house1 that he might devote all  
his time to literature4 ,he moved into  
the ,old ,manse1 which had just been    
vacated by ,doctor ,ripley1 who had gone
 a-,brook-,farming--the ,old ,manse     
where ,emerson himself once lived4      
,elizabeth ,peabody1 the talented sister
 of ,hawthorne's wife1 lived at a       
convenient distance1 and to her         
,hawthorne read most of his manuscript1 
for ,i need not explain that literature 
is not literature until it is read aloud
 and reflected back by a sympathetic1   
discerning mind4 ,literature is a       

collaboration between the reader and the
 listener4  ,margaret ,fuller1 with her 
tragic life-story still unwound1 lived  
hard by1 and ,hawthorne had already     
worked her up into copy as ,zenobia4    
,margaret's sister ,ellen had married   
,ellery ,channing1 the closest1 warmest 
friend that ,henry ,thoreau ever knew4  
,the gossips arranged a doublewedding1  
with ,henry and ,margaret as the other  
principals2 but when interviewed on the 
theme1 ,henry had merely shaken his head
 and said1 ,in the first place1         
,margaret ,fuller is not fool enough to 
marry me2 and second1 ,i am not fool    
enough to marry her4  ,an ,irishman who 
saw ,thoreau in the field making a      
minute in his notebook took it for      
granted that he was casting up his      
wages1 and inquired what they came to4  
,it was a peculiar farmhand who cared   
more for ideas than for wages4  ,george 
,william ,curtis was also a farmhand out
 on the ,lowell ,road1 but came into    
town ,saturday evenings--taking a swim  

in the river on the way--to attend the  
philosophical conferences at ,emerson's 
house1 and then went off and made gentle
 fun of them4  ,little ,doctor ,holmes  
occasionally drove out from ,boston to  
,concord in a one-horse chaise2 ,james  
,russell ,lowell had walked over from   
,cambridge2 and ,longfellow had invited 
all hands to a birthday fete on his lawn
 at ,cambridge1 but ,thoreau had        
declined for himself1 saying he had to  
look after his pond-lilies and the      
field-mice on ,bedford flats4  ,thoreau1
 at this time1 was a member of          
,emerson's household1 and in a letter   
,emerson says1 ,he has his board for    
what labor he chooses to do2 he is a    
great benefactor and physician to me1   
for he is an indefatigable and skilful  
laborer1 besides being a scholar and a  
poet1 and as full of promise as a young 
apple-tree4  ,and again1 in a letter to 
,carlyle3 ,one reader and friend of     
yours dwells in my household1 ,henry    
,thoreau1 a poet whom you may one day be

 proud of--a noble1 manly youth1 full of
 melodies and invention4 ,we work       
together day by day in my garden1 and ,i
 grow well and strong4  ,to work and    
talk is the true way to acquire an      
education4 ,all of our best things are  
done incidentally--not in cold blood4   
,hawthorne says in his ,journal that    
most of ,emerson's and ,thoreau's       
farming was done leaning on the         
hoe-handles1 while ,alcott sat on the   
fence and explained the ,whyness of the 
,wherefore4  ,but we must remember that 
in ,hawthorne's ink-bottle there was a  
goodly dash of tincture of iron4 ,in his
 ,journal of ,september ,first1         
,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-two1 he       
writes3 ,mr4 ,thoreau dined with us     
yesterday4 ,he is a singular            
character--a young man with much of     
wild1 original nature still remaining in
 him2 and so far as he is sophisticated1
 it is in a way and method of his own4  
,he is as ugly as sin1 long-nosed1      
queer-mouthed1 and with uncouth and     

somewhat rustic ways1 though his        
courteous manner corresponds very well  
with such an exterior4 ,but his ugliness
 is of an honest character and really   
becomes him better than beauty4 ,little 
did ,hawthorne's guests imagine they    
were being basted1 roasted1 or          
fricasseed for the edification of       
posterity4  ,prosperity at this time had
 just begun to smile on ,hawthorne1 and 
among other extravagances in which he   
indulged was a boat1 bought from        
,thoreau--made by the hands of this     
expert ,yankee whittler4 ,hawthorne     
quotes a little transcendental advice   
given to him by the maker of the boat3  
,in paddling a canoe1 all you have to do
 is to will that your boat shall go in  
any particular direction1 and she will  
immediately take the course1 as if      
imbued with the spirit of the steersman4
 ,hawthorne then adds this sober        
postscript3 ,it may be so with you1 but 
it is certainly not so with me4         
,admiration for ,thoreau gradually grew 

very strong with ,hawthorne1 and he     
quotes ,emerson1 who called ,thoreau the
 young god ,pan4 ,and this lends much   
semblance to the statement that ,thoreau
 served ,hawthorne as a model for       
,donatello1 the mysterious wood-sprite  
in the ,marble ,faun4  ,as to the       
transformation of ,thoreau himself1 one 
of his classmates records this3         
,meeting ,mr4 ,emerson one day1 ,i      
inquired if he saw much of my           
classmate1 ,henry ,d4 ,thoreau1 who was 
then living in ,concord4 ,of            
,thoreau8 replied ,mr4 ,emerson1 his    
face lighting up with a smile of        
enthusiasm4 ,oh1 yes1 we could not do   
without him4 ,when ,carlyle      comes  
to ,america1 ,i expect to introduce     
,thoreau to him as the man      of      
,concord1 and ,i was greatly surprised  
at these words4 ,they set      an       
estimate on ,thoreau which seemed to be 
extravagant4444 ,not long      after ,i 
happened to meet ,thoreau in ,mr4       
,emerson's study at      ,concord--the  

first time we had come together after   
leaving college4      ,i was quite      
startled by the transformation that had 
taken place in      him4 ,his short     
figure and general cast of countenance  
were1 of      course1 unchanged2 but in 
his manners1 in the tones of his voice1 
in his modes of expression1 even in the 
hesitations and pauses of      his      
speech1 he had become the counterpart of
 ,mr4 ,emerson4 ,thoreau's      college 
voice bore no resemblance to ,mr4       
,emerson's1 and was so      familiar to 
my ear that ,i could have readily       
identified him by it      in the dark4  
,i was so much struck by the change that
 ,i took the      opportunity1 as they  
sat near together talking1 of listening 
with      closed eyes1 and ,i was unable
 to determine with certainty which was  
speaking4 ,i do not know to what subtle 
influences to ascribe it1      but after
 conversing with ,mr4 ,emerson for even 
a brief time1 ,i      always found      
myself able and inclined to adopt his   

voice and manner      of speaking4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,thoreau had tried schoolteaching1 but  
he had to give up his position because  
he would not exercise the birch and     
ferule4 ,if the scholars once find out  
the teacher is not goin' to sting 'em up
 when they need it1 that is an end to   
the skule1 said one of the directors1   
and he spat violently at a fly1 ten feet
 away4 ,the others agreeing with him1   
,thoreau was asked to resign4  ,william 
,emerson1 a brother of ,ralph ,waldo's1 
a prosperous ,new ,york merchant1 had   
lured ,ralph ,waldo's hired man away    
from him and taken him down to ,staten  
,island1 ,new ,york4 ,here ,thoreau     
acted as private tutor1 and imparted the
 mysteries of woodcraft to boys who     
cared more for marbles4  ,staten ,island
 was about two hundred miles too far    
from ,concord to suit ,thoreau4  ,his   
loneliness in ,new ,york ,city made     
,concord and the pine-trees of ,walden  
woods seem paradise enow4 ,there is no  

heart desolation equal to that which can
 come to one in a throng4  ,margaret    
,fuller was now in ,new ,york ,city1    
working for ,greeley on the editorial   
staff of the ,tribune4 ,greeley was so  
much pleased with ,thoreau that he      
offered to set him to work as reporter1 
for ,greeley had guessed the truth that 
the best city reporters are country     
boys4 ,they observe and hear--all is    
curious and wonderful to them3 by and by
 they will become                       
blase--sophisticated--that is1 blind and
 deaf4  ,greeley was a great talker1 and
 he had a way of getting others to talk 
also4 ,he got ,thoreau to talking about 
communal life and life in the woods1 and
 then ,horace worked ,henry's words up  
into copy--for that is the way all good 
newspaper-writers evolve their original 
ideas4  ,thoreau was amazed to pick up a
 number of the daily ,tribune and find  
his conversation of the day before1 with
 ,greeley1 skilfully transformed into a 
leader4  ,fourierism had been the       

theme--the ,phalanstery versus          
,individual ,housekeeping4 ,greeley had 
prophesied that the phalanstery1 with   
one kitchen for forty families1 instead 
of forty kitchens for forty families1   
would soon come about4 ,greeley's       
prophetic vision did not quite          
anticipate the modern apartment-house1  
which perhaps is a transitional         
expedient1 moving toward the            
phalanstery1 but he quoted ,thoreau by  
saying1 ,a woman enslaved by her        
housekeeping is just as much a chattel  
as if owned by a man4  ,this was in     
,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-five1 and     
,thoreau was now twenty-eight years of  
age4 ,he was homesick for the dim       
pine-woods with their ceaseless lullaby1
 the winding and placid river1 and the  
great1 massive1 sullen1 self-sufficient 
boulders of ,concord4  ,he was resolved 
to follow the example of ,brook ,farm1  
and start a community of his own in     
opposition4 ,his community would be on  
the shores of ,walden ,pond1 and the    

only member of the genus homo who would 
be eligible to membership would be      
himself2 the other members would be the 
birds and squirrels and bees1 and the   
trees would make up the rest4 ,brook    
,farm was a retreat for                 
transcendentalists--a place to meditate1
 dream and work--a place where one could
 exist close to ,nature1 and live a     
simple1 hardy and healthful life4       
,thoreau's retreat would be the same1   
with the disadvantage of personal       
contact eliminated4  ,it was in ,march1 
,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-five1 that    
,thoreau began building his shanty4 ,the
 spot was in a dense woods1 on a        
hillside that gently sloped down to the 
clear1 cold1 deep water of ,walden      
,pond4 ,the land belonged to ,emerson1  
who obligingly gave ,thoreau the use of 
it1 rent free1 with no conditions4      
,alcott helped in the carpenter work1   
and discussed betimes of the ,wherefore1
 and when it came to the raising1 a     
couple of neighboring farmers were      

hailed and pressed into service4 ,the   
cabin was twelve by fifteen1 and        
cost--furnished--the sum of twenty-eight
 dollars1 good money1 not counting      
labor1 which ,thoreau did not calculate 
as worth anything1 since he had had the 
fun of the thing--something for which   
men often pay high4  ,the furniture     
consisted of a table1 a chair1 and a    
bed1 all made by the owner4 ,for        
bedclothes and dishes the ,emerson      
household was put under contribution4   
,on the door was a latch1 but no lock4  
,and ,thoreau looked upon his work and  
pronounced it good4  ,stripped of the   
fact that a man of culture and education
 built the shanty and lived in it1 the  
incident is scarcely worth noting4 ,boys
 passing through the shanty stage1 all  
build shanties1 and forage through their
 mothers' pantries for provender1 which 
they carry off to their robbers' roost4 
,thoreau was an example of              
shanty-arrested development4  ,but as   
the import of every sentence depends    

upon who wrote it1 and the worth of     
advice hinges upon who gave it1 so does 
the value of every act depend upon who  
did it4 ,thus when a man1 who was in    
degree an inspiration of ,emerson1 takes
 to the woods1 it is worth our while to 
follow him afield and see what he does4 
,thoreau set to work to clean up two    
acres of blackberry brambles for a      
garden-patch4 ,he did not work except   
when he felt like it4 ,his plan was to  
go to bed at dusk1 with window and door 
open1 and get up at five o'clock in the 
morning4 ,after a plunge in the lake he 
would dress and prepare his simple      
breakfast4 ,then he would work in his   
garden1 or if the mood struck him1 he   
would sit in the door of his shanty and 
meditate1 or else write4 ,in the        
arrangement of his home he followed no  
system or rule1 merely allowing the     
passing inclination to lead4  ,his      
provisions were gotten of friends in the
 village1 and were paid for in labor4   
,it was part of ,thoreau's philosophy   

that to accept something for nothing was
 theft1 and that the giving or          
acceptance of presents was immoral4 ,for
 all he received he conscientiously gave
 an equivalent in labor2 and as for     
ideas1 he always considered himself a   
learner2 if he had thoughts they        
belonged to anybody who could annex     
them4 ,and that ,emerson and ,horace    
,greeley were alike in their capacity to
 absorb1 digest and regurgitate1 is     
everywhere acknowledged4 ,to paraphrase 
,emerson's famous remark concerning     
,plato3 ,say what you will1 you will    
find everything mentioned by ,emerson   
hinted at somewhere in ,thoreau4 ,the   
younger man had as much mind as the     
elder1 but he lacked the capacity for   
patient effort that works steadily1     
persistently1 and weighs1 sifts1        
decides1 classifies and arranges4 ,the  
voice was the voice of ,jacob1 but the  
hand was the hand of ,esau4 ,that is to 
say1 ,thoreau lacked business instinct4 
,during the ,winter at ,walden ,pond1   

all the work ,thoreau had to do was to  
gather firewood4 ,there was plenty of   
time to think and write1 and here the   
better part of ,walden and ,a ,week on  
the ,concord and ,merrimac ,rivers were 
written4 ,he had no neighbors1 no pets1 
no domesticated animals--only the       
squirrels on the roof1 a woodchuck under
 the floor1 the scolding blue jays in   
the pines overhead1 the wild ducks on   
the pond1 and the hooting owls that sat 
on the ridgepole at night4  ,thoreau    
loved solitude more because he prized   
society--the society of simple men who  
could talk and tell things4 ,thoreau was
 no hermit--at least twice a week he    
would go to the village and meander     
along the street1 gossiping with all or 
any4 ,often he would accept invitations 
to supper1 but on principle refused all 
invitations to remain overnight1 no     
matter what the weather4 ,indeed1 as    
,hawthorne hints1 there is a trace of   
the theatrical in the man who leaves a  
warm fireside at nine or ten o'clock at 

night and trudges off through the       
darkness1 storm and sleet1 feeling his  
way through the blackness of the woods  
to a cold and cheerless shanty which he 
with unconscious humor calls home4      
,hawthorne hints that ,thoreau was a    
delightful poseur--he posed so naturally
 that he deceived even himself4 ,on one 
particular visit to the village1        
however1 he did not go back home for the
 night4 ,it seems that he had been      
called upon by the local taxgatherer for
 his poll-tax1 a matter of a dollar and 
a quarter4 ,thoreau argued the question 
at length1 and among other things1 said1
 ,i will not give money to buy a musket1
 and hire a man to use this musket to   
shoot another4 ,and also1 ,the best     
government is not that which governs    
least1 but that which governs not at    
all4  ,but what shall ,i do8 said the   
patient publican4  ,resign1 said the    
philosopher4  ,thoreau seemed to forget 
that officeholders seldom die and never 
resign4 ,in the argument the publican   

was worsted1 but he was not without     
resource4 ,he went back to town and told
 the other officials what had happened4 
,their dignity was at stake4 ,alcott had
 been guilty of a like defiance some    
time before1 and now it was the belief  
that he was putting the younger man up  
to insurrection4  ,the next time        
,thoreau came over to the village for   
his mail he was arrested and lodged in  
the local bastile4  ,emerson1 hearing of
 the trouble1 hastened to the jail1 and 
reaching the presence of the prisoner   
asked sternly1 ,henry1 why are you here8
  ,and the answer was1 ,waldo1 why are  
you not here8 ,emerson had no use for   
such finespun theories of duty1 and the 
matter was too near home for a joke1 so 
he turned away and let the culprit spend
 the night in limbo4 ,the next morning  
,thoreau was released1 the tax having   
been paid by some unknown               
person--,emerson1 undoubtedly4 ,this was
 a tame enough ending to what was rather
 an interesting affair--the hope of the 

best citizens being that ,thoreau would 
get a goodly sentence for vagrancy4 ,the
 townfolk looked upon ,thoreau and      
,alcott with suspicious eyes4 ,they both
 came in for much well-deserved censure1
 and ,emerson did not go unsmirched1    
since he was guilty of harboring and    
encouraging these ne'er-do-wells4       
,thoreau's cabin-life continued for two 
,summers and ,winters4 ,he had proved   
that two hours' manual work each day was
 sufficient to keep a man--twenty cents 
a day would suffice4  ,the last year in 
the woods he had many callers3 ,agassiz 
had been to see him1 ,emerson had often 
called1 ,ellery ,channing was a frequent
 visitor1 and picnickers were constant4 
,lowell had made a few cutting remarks  
to the effect that as compared with     
shanty-life1 the tub of ,diogenes was   
preferable1 as it had a much sounder    
bottom1 and ,hawthorne had written of   
the beauties of conspicuous solitude4   
,thoreau felt that he was attracting too
 much attention1 and that perhaps       

,hawthorne was right3 a recluse who     
holds receptions is becoming the thing  
he pretends to despise4 ,besides that1  
there was plenty of precedent for       
quitting--,brook ,farm had gone by the  
board1 and was but a memory4  ,thoreau's
 shanty was turned over to a utilitarian
 ,scotchman with red hair4 ,later the   
immortal shanty was a useful granary4   
,thoreau went back to the village to    
live in a garret and work at odd jobs of
 boat-building and gardening4  ,now only
 a pile of boulders marks the place     
where the cabin stood4 ,for some years1 
each visitor to the spot threw a stone  
upon the heap1 but recently the         
proposition has been reversed1 and each 
visitor takes a stone away1 which       
reveals not a reversal in the sentiment 
toward the memory of ,thoreau1 but a    
change in the quality of the ,concord   
pilgrim4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,thoreau's early death was 
the direct result of his reckless lack  
of common prudence4 ,that which made him

 live1 in a literary way1 curtailed his 
years4 ,the man was improperly and      
imperfectly nourished1 physically4 ,men 
who live alone do not cook any more than
 they have to3 men and women1 both1 cook
 for emulation4 ,that is to say1 we work
 for each other1 and we succeed only as 
we help each other4  ,thoreau was such a
 pronounced individualist that he cared 
for no one but himself1 and he cared for
 himself not at all4 ,it is wife1       
children and home that teach a man      
prudence1 and make him bank against the 
storm4 ,at ,walden no one bothered me   
but the ,state1 said ,thoreau4 ,if      
,thoreau had had a family and treated   
his household as he treated himself1    
that scorned thing1 the ,state1 would   
have stepped in and sent him to the     
workhouse1 and his children to the ,home
 for the ,friendless4  ,if he had       
treated dumb animals as he treated      
himself1 the ,society for the           
,prevention of ,cruelty to ,animals     
would have interfered4 ,the absence of  

social ties and of all responsibilities 
fixed in his peculiar temperament an    
indifference to hunger1 heat1 cold1 wet1
 damp1 and all bodily discomfort that   
classes the man with the flagellants4   
,he tells of whole days when he ate     
nothing but berries and drank only cold 
water2 and at other times of how he     
walked all day in a soaking rain and    
went to bed at night1 supperless1 under 
a pine-tree4 ,emerson records the fact  
that on long tramps ,thoreau would carry
 only a chunk of plum-cake for food1    
because it was rich and contained       
condensed nutriment4  ,the question is  
sometimes asked1 ,how can one eat his   
cake and keep it too8 but this does not 
refer to plum-cake4  ,a few years of    
plum-cake1 cold mince-pie and continual 
wet feet will put the petard under even 
the stoutest constitution4  ,during his 
shanty-life ,thoreau was imperfectly    
nourished1 and for the victim of        
malassimilation1 tuberculosis hunts and 
needs no spyglass4  ,it is absurd for a 

man to make a god of his digestive      
apparatus1 but it is just as bad to     
forget that the belly is as much the    
gift of ,god as the brain4  ,in         
childhood1 ,thoreau was frail and weak4 
,outdoor life gradually developed on his
 slight frame a splendid strength and a 
power to do and endure4 ,he could       
outrun1 outrow1 outwalk any of his      
townsmen4 ,in him developed the         
confidence of the athlete--the          
confidence of the athlete who dies      
young4 ,thoreau was an athlete1 and he  
died as the athlete dieth4 ,irregular   
diet and continued exposure did their   
work--the vital powers became reduced1  
the man caught cold1 bronchitis         
followed1 and the tuberculae laughed4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,during ,thoreau's life he published but
 two volumes1 and these met with scanty 
sale4 ,since his death ten volumes have 
been issued from his manuscripts and    
letters1 and his fame has steadily      
increased4  ,boston had no recognition  

for ,thoreau as long as he was alive4   
,among the most popular writers of the  
time1 feted and feasted1 invited and    
exalted1 were ,george ,s4 ,hillard1 ,n4 
,p4 ,willis1 ,caroline ,kirkland1       
,george ,w4 ,green1 ,parke ,godwin and  
,charles ,f4 ,briggs4 ,these writers1   
who had the run of the magazines1 would 
have smiled in derision if told that the
 name and fame of uncouth ,thoreau would
 outlive them all4 ,they wrote for the  
people who bought their books1 but      
,thoreau dedicated his work to time4 ,he
 wrote what he thought1 but they wrote  
what they thought other people thought4 
,in the publication of ,the ,dial1      
,thoreau took a hearty interest1 and was
 a frequent contributor4 ,the official  
organ of the transcendentalists1        
however1 paid no honorariums--it was    
both sincere and serious1 and died in   
due time of too much dignity4 ,the      
,atlantic ,monthly accepted one article 
by ,thoreau1 and paid for it1 but as    
,james ,russell ,lowell1 the editor1    

used his blue pencil a trifle1 without  
first consulting the author1 he never   
got an opportunity to do so again4      
,horace ,greeley had interested himself 
in ,thoreau's writings and gotten       
several articles accepted by ,graham's  
and also ,putnam's ,magazine4 ,the ,week
 had been published on the author's     
guaranty that enough copies would be    
sold the first year to cover the cost4  
,after four years1 of the edition of one
 thousand copies only three hundred were
 disposed of1 and these were mostly     
given away4 ,to pay the publisher for   
the expense incurred1 ,thoreau buckled  
down and worked hard at surveying for a 
year4  ,the only man he ever knew1 of   
whom he stood a little in awe1 was ,walt
 ,whitman4 ,in a letter to ,blake he    
says3       ,nineteenth ,november1      
,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-six4--,alcott 
has been      here1 and last ,sunday ,i 
went with him to ,greeley's farm1       
thirty-six      miles north of ,new     
,york4 ,the next day ,alcott and ,i     

heard ,beecher      preach2 and what was
 more1 we visited ,whitman the next     
morning1 and      we were much          
interested and provoked4 ,he is         
apparently the greatest      democrat   
the world has seen1 kings and           
aristocracy go by the board      at     
once1 as they have long deserved to4 ,a 
remarkably strong though      coarse    
nature1 of a sweet disposition1 and much
 prized by his      friends4 ,though    
peculiar and rough in his exterior1 he  
is      essentially a gentleman4 ,i am  
still somewhat in a quandary about      
him--feel that he is essentially strange
 to me1 at any rate2 but ,i      am     
surprised by the sight of him4 ,he is   
very broad1 but1 as ,i have      said1  
not fine4       ,seventh ,december1     
,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-six4--,that   
,walt ,whitman1      of whom ,i wrote   
you1 is the most interesting fact to me 
at present4      ,i have just read his  
second edition 7which he gave me71 and  
it has      done me more good than any  

reading for a long time4 ,perhaps ,i    
remember best the poem of ,walt ,whitman
 an ,american and the      ,sundown     
poem4 ,there are two or three pieces in 
the book which are      disagreeable1 to
 say the least1 simply sensual4444 ,as  
for its      sensuality--and it may turn
 out to be less sensual than it         
appears--,i do not so much wish that    
those parts were not written1      as   
that men and women were so pure that    
they could read them      without harm4 
,on the whole1 it sounds to me very     
brave and ,american1 after      whatever
 deductions4 ,i do not believe that all 
the sermons1 so      called1 that have  
been preached in this land1 put         
together1 are      equal to it for      
preaching4 ,we ought greatly to rejoice 
in him4 ,he      occasionally suggests  
something a little more than human4 ,you
 can't      confound him with the other 
inhabitants of ,brooklyn4 ,how they must
      shudder when they read him6       
,to be sure1 ,i sometimes feel a little 

imposed on4 ,by his heartiness      and 
broad generalities he puts me into a    
liberal frame of mind1      prepared to 
see wonders--as it were1 sets me upon a 
hill or in the      midst of a          
plain--stirs me well up1 and            
then--throws in a thousand      of      
brick4 ,though rude and sometimes       
ineffectual1 it is a great              
primitive poem1 an alarum or            
trumpet-note ringing through the        
,american camp4 ,wonderfully like the   
,orientals1 too1 considering      that1 
when ,i asked him if he had read them1  
he answered1 ,no2 tell      me about    
them4       ,since ,i have seen him1 ,i 
find that ,i am not disturbed by any    
brag      or egoism in his book4 ,he may
 turn out the least of a braggart of    
all1 having a better right to be        
confident4 ,walt is a great fellow4  ,a 
lady once asked ,john ,burroughs this   
question3 ,what would become of this    
world if everybody in it patterned after
 ,henry ,thoreau8 ,and ,ol' ,john       

replied1 ,it would be much improved4    
,but your ,uncle ,john is a humorist--he
 knows that ,henry ,ward ,beecher was   
right when he said1 ,god never made but 
one ,thoreau--that was enough1 but we   
are grateful for the one4  ,thoreau was 
a poet-naturalist1 and the lesson he    
taught us is that this is the most      
beautiful world to know anything about1 
and there are enough curious and        
wonderful things right under our feet1  
and over our heads1 and all around us1  
to amuse1 divert1 interest and instruct 
us for a lifetime4 ,we need only a      
little4  ,use your eyes6  ,how do you   
manage to find so many ,indian relics8 a
 friend asked ,thoreau4 ,just like this1
 he replied1 and stooping over1 he      
picked up an arrowhead under the        
friend's foot4 ,at dinner once at a     
neighbor's he was asked what dish he    
preferred1 and his answer was1 ,the     
nearest4 ,to him1 everything was        
good--he uttered no complaints and made 
no demands4  ,when asked by a clergyman 

why he did not go to church1 he said1   
,it is the rafters--,i can't stand      
them--when ,i look up1 ,i want to gaze  
straight into the blue sky4 ,then he    
turned the tables and asked the         
interrogator a question3 ,did you ever  
happen1 accidentally1 to say anything   
while you were preaching8 ,yet preachers
 of brains were always attracted to him3
 ,harrison ,blake1 to whom he wrote more
 letters than to any one else1 was a    
,congregational preacher4 ,and when     
,horace ,greeley took ,thoreau to       
,plymouth ,church1 ,beecher invited him 
to sit on the platform and quoted him as
 one who saw ,god in autumn's every     
burning bush4  ,the wit of the man--his 
direct speech1 and all of his beautiful 
indifference for the good opinion of    
those whom others follow after and lie  
in wait for--was sublime4 ,meanness1    
hypocrisy1 secrecy and subterfuge had no
 place in ,thoreau's nature4  ,he wanted
 nothing--nothing but liberty--he did   
not even ask for your applause or       

approval4 ,when walking on country      
roads1 laborers would hail him and ask  
for tobacco--seeing in him only one of  
their own kind4 ,farmers would stop and 
gossip with him about the weather4      
,children ran to him on the village     
streets and would cling to his hands and
 clutch his coat1 and ask where the     
berries grew1 or the first spring       
flowers were to be found4 ,with children
 he was particularly patient and kind4  
,with them he would converse as freely  
as did ,george ,francis ,train with the 
children in ,madison ,square4 ,the      
children recognized in him something    
very much akin to themselves--he would  
play upon his flute for them and whittle
 out toy boats1 regardless of the flight
 of time4  ,imbeciles and mental        
defectives from the almshouse used      
occasionally to wander over to his cabin
 in the woods1 and he would treat them  
with gentle consideration1 and accompany
 them back home4  ,his lack of worldly  
prudence1 ,blake thought1 tokened a     

courage which under certain conditions  
would have made him as formidable as    
,john ,brown4 ,blake tells this3 ,once  
on a lonely road1 two miles from        
,concord1 two loafers stopped a girl who
 was picking berries1 and began to      
bother her4 ,thoreau just then happened 
along1 and seeing the young woman's     
distress1 he collared the rogues and    
marched them into the village1 turning  
them over to that redoubtable           
transcendentalist1 ,sam ,staples1 who   
locked them up4 ,thoreau's hook nose and
 features could be transformed in rare  
instances into a look of command that no
 man dare question--it was the look of  
the fatalist--the benign fanatic--the   
look of ,marat--the look of a man who   
has nothing but his life to lose1 and   
places small store on that4 ,a little   
more ambition1 and a trifle less        
sympathy1 and the world would have had a
 ,caesar to deal with1 says ,blake4     
,cowardice is only caution carried to an
 extreme4 ,thoreau exercised no prudence

 in making money1 securing fame1        
preserving his health1 holding his      
friends or making new ones4 ,this       
,spartan-like quality1 that counts not  
the cost1 is essentially heroic4  ,but  
,thoreau was not given to strife2 for   
the most part1 he was non-resistant4    
,the chief thing he prized was          
equanimity1 and this you can not secure 
through struggle and strife4 ,his game  
was all captured with the spyglass1 or  
carried home in his botanists' drum4    
,for worldly wealth and what we call    
progress1 he had small                  
appreciation--this marks his            
limitations4 ,but his reasons are surely
 good literature3       ,they make a    
great ado nowadays about hard times2 but
 ,i think that      the community       
generally1 ministers and all1 take a    
wrong view of      the matter4 ,this    
general failure1 both private and       
public1 is      rather occasion for     
rejoicing1 as reminding us whom we have 
at the      helm--that justice is always

 done4 ,if our merchants did not most of
      them fail1 and the banks too1 my  
faith in the old laws of the world      
would be staggered4 ,the statement that 
ninety-six in a hundred      doing such 
business surely break down1 is perhaps  
the sweetest fact      that statistics  
have revealed--exhilarating as the      
fragrance of the      flowers in the    
,spring4 ,does it not say somewhere1    
,the ,lord      reigneth1 let the earth 
rejoice8 ,if thousands are thrown out of
      employment1 it suggests that they 
were not well employed4 ,why don't      
they take the hint8 ,it is not enough to
 be industrious2 so are the      ants4  
,what are you industrious about8        
,the merchants and company have long    
laughed at transcendentalism1           
higher law1 etc41 crying1 ,none of your 
moonshine1 as if they were      anchored
 to something not only definite1 but    
sure and permanent4 ,if      there were 
any institution which was presumed to   
rest on a solid      and secure basis1  

and more than any other1 represented    
this boasted      commonsense1 prudence1
 and practical talent1 it was the bank2 
and      now these very banks are found 
to be mere reeds shaken by the wind4    
,scarcely one in the land has kept its  
promise4 ,not merely the ,brook         
,farm and ,fourierite communities1 but  
now the community generally      has    
failed4 ,but there is the moonshine     
still1 serene1 beneficent      and      
unchanged4  ,thoreau was no pessimist4  
,he complained neither of men nor of    
destiny--he felt that he was getting out
 of life all that was his due4 ,his     
remarks might be sharp and his words    
sarcastic1 but in them there was no     
bitterness4 ,he made life for none more 
difficult--he added to no one's burdens4
 ,sympathy with ,nature1 pride1         
buoyancy1 self-sufficiency1 were his    
prevailing traits4 ,the habit of his    
mind was hopeful4  ,his wit and         
good-nature were his to the last1 and   
when asked if he had made his peace with

 ,god1 he replied1 ,i have never        
quarreled with ,him4  ,he died1 aged    
forty-four1 in the modest home of his   
mother4 ,the village school was         
dismissed that the scholars might attend
 the funeral1 and three hundred children
 walked in the procession to ,sleepy    
,hollow4 ,emerson made an address at the
 grave2 ,alcott read selections from    
,thoreau's own writings2 and ,louisa    
,alcott read this poem1 composed for the
 occasion3    ,we sighing said1 ,our    
,pan is dead2     ,his pipe hangs mute  
beside the river1     ,around it wistful
 sunbeams quiver1   ,but ,music's airy  
voice is fled4   ,spring mourns as for  
untimely frost3     ,the bluebird chants
 a requiem2     ,the willow-blossom     
waits for him2--   ,the ,genius of the  
wood is lost4    ,then from the flute1  
untouched by hands1     ,there came a   
low1 harmonious breath3     ,for such as
 he there is no death2   ,his life the  
eternal life commands2   ,above man's   
aims his nature rose4     ,the wisdom of

 a just content     ,made one small spot
 a continent1   ,and turned to poetry   
life's prose4    ,to him no vain regrets
 belong1     ,whose soul1 that finer    
instrument1     ,gave to the world no   
poor lament1   ,but wood-notes ever     
sweet and strong4   ,o lonely friend6 he
 still will be     ,a potent presence1  
though unseen--     ,steadfast1         
sagacious1 and serene2   ,seek not for  
him--he is with thee4         99        
99       99       99       99     ,,so  
,,here ,,endeth ,,little ,,journeys ,,to
 ,,the ,,homes ,,of ,,great             
,,philosophers1 ,,being ,,volume ,,eight
 ,,of ,,the ,,series1 ,,as ,,written    
,,by ,,elbert ,,hubbard2 ,,edited ,,and 
,,arranged ,,by ,,fred ,,bann2 ,,borders
 ,,and ,,initials ,,by ,,roycroft       
,,artists1 ,,and ,,produced ,,by ,,the  
,,roycrofters1 ,,at ,,their ,,shops1    
,,which ,,are ,,in ,,east ,,aurora1     
,,erie ,,county1 ,,new ,,york1          
,,mcmxxii4